IU Northwest Continues Residency Study
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndiana University Northwest School of Medicine in Gary is continuing to explore ways of keeping future physicians from moving out of the area. College of Health and Human Services Dean Patrick Bankston says health care institutions in the region could potentially provide some 165 resident opportunities for new doctors. The Lake County school does not currently have a residency program.
The institution began working with a consultant last year to study the feasibility of developing a program in Gary. A final report is slated to be complete this summer.
Bankston says "the formation of residency programs would complete the medical education continuum for our region, having established the MS 3 and 4 programs five years ago and now establishing residencies, of which currently none are based on our local hospitals, clinics and mental health agencies. The long-term goal would be to increase the quality of care in the Region, allowing our patients to seek care here rather than in Chicago, providing a flow of excellent doctors to practice here to help with our physician shortage."
The partners involved are:
- The Community Hospital System, which includes Munster Community, St. Catherine Hospital, St. Mary Medical Center
- Methodist Hospitals
- Porter Health Care System
- IU Health LaPorte
- Federally-qualified health centers and mental health centers, including: Community Healthnet, Healthlinc, Community Health, Regional Health and Mental Health, Porter-Starke Services and Edgewater Systems for Balanced Living
Bankston says "it is entirely possible that the Class of 2019 will be able to apply for residencies in Northwest Indiana." The medical school in Gary was started in 1972 with four students and will welcome 32 in the entering class.