New residency program to bring more doctors to California's Central Valley
MODESTO -— The Sutter Health Memorial Medical Center in Modesto got a huge boost this week. They have been nationally accredited for physician residency programs, allowing the medical center to begin searching for 39 doctors.
There is a huge need for residency programs for medical professionals throughout the state.
Dr. Robert Altman, the CEO of Gould Medical Group, fought to have more residencies in the state. These are the first for Sutter Health in the Central Valley.
"When you look at schools outside the state," Dr. Altman said. "They are typically filled with California medical students because we don't have enough space for them here in California. So this is an opportunity for us to bring them back home."
Dr. Altman has been a physician in Modesto for 30 years. He spearheaded the efforts to bring national accreditation to Sutter Health Memorial Medical Center in Modesto.
"It's very hard for patients to get primary care in the valley and it's difficult for us to recruit good docs to the valley," he said.
Dr. Altman has seen the need for doctors in this community and wants to bring more staff on board.
These 39 resident physicians will be primarily focused on family and internal medicine.
"We get the ability to select who we have come in so we can represent the diversity of the community with the people we've chosen to train," he said. "If we can start looking for people from the valley who want to come home, even better."
Living in this community for three decades, Dr. Altman knows how vital care is that relates to the patient.
"Building trust is part of providing health care and having those shared life experiences," he said.
The medical center will be able to select its own candidates for the program, which Dr. Altman said can only help the patient.
"We knew we needed to get more docs, and one way to do that is to grow your own physicians," he said.
Recruitment will start this fall. Once selections are made, we could see the resident physicians start in July 2025. It's a three-year program, and resident physicians could be hired by 2028.