Residents spent the majority (96%) of their training in medically underserved communities. Among 2022 graduates, 34% reported coming from disadvantaged or rural backgrounds and 20% from underrepresented in minorities in medicine Furthermore, the THCGME program is highly cost-efficient. By focusing on training physicians to provide high-quality, cost-conscious care, the program has saved $1.8 billion in federal healthcare expenditures between 2019 and 2023. Community Health Centers Inc. Sponsors Utah’s First THCGME Community Health Centers Inc. (CHC) is Utah’s largest federally qualified health center. CHC operates six clinics in Salt Lake County and two in Box Elder County, caring for a diverse urban underserved population. In addition to providing primary care to 35,000-40,000 patients — most of whom are served in a language other than English, and over 50% of whom do not have insurance — CHC has a robust maternal-neonatal service line, delivering over 1,400 babies annually at LDS and the University of Utah Hospitals. Because of their diverse patient population and broad spectrum of practice, CHC physicians have been actively involved in teaching medical students, residents, and APC students from other institutions, for decades. In 2022, a group of family physicians at CHC led by Drs. Frank Powers and Andy Garrison devised a plan to start a new family medicine residency to address the workforce shortage in Utah, expand access to care, and address the specific needs of medically underserved communities. Having primary care providers practice in such areas. Health disparities exist across racial and ethnic lines in Utah as well, and have worsened in the last 20 years, particularly among Hispanic/Latino, Black/African American, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander populations. These disparities lead to poorer health outcomes across multiple realms of health. Despite these needs, and a significant increase in medical students graduating from Utah schools (currently 475 annually), there remain a small number of family medicine residency positions (29 annually) available in the state. The state’s existing residencies provide outstanding clinical training and retain the majority of graduates within Utah, yet are nonetheless inadequate in size to meet current and physician workforce needs. The THCGME Program Helps Communities Grow Their Healthcare Workforce The THCGME program is a unique national program which aims to change the resident training paradigm by providing the majority of training in community-based outpatient settings. THCGME programs are primary care residencies housed at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), rural health clinics, or tribal sites. The program dates from 2010, when a portion of the Affordable Care Act allocated $230 million over five years directly to community-based ambulatory primary care centers, instead of hospitals as was typical for Graduate Medical Education Funding previously. Since that time, the THCGME program has grown substantially and has made a meaningful impact on physicians working in rural and underserved settings. As of 2021, the THCGME program boasts a total of 59 new primary care residencies (since 2010 PH) and has trained over 1,200 family physicians. Of all THCGME graduates, 56% practice in medically underserved or rural communities, often practicing in a broader scope, including substance use treatment (MAT with buprenorphine), behavioral health care, outpatient gynecology, and obstetrics. Source: data.HRSA.gov, July 2024. We are members of a specialty integral to the health and wellness of our communities. 27
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