Sutter’s Latest Investment in Medical Education Gains National Accreditation in Modesto
While individuals may be disappointed and frustrated by their inability to schedule primary care appointments, it may also leave them sicker. A recent study, “The Health of U.S. Primary Care: 2024 Scorecard Report — No One Can See You Now,” states the primary care workforce is not growing fast enough to meet needs. It also cited how a lack of access to primary care can lead to health disparities and more chronic health issues.
Healthcare organizations, academic institutions and other industry leaders are working together to remove barriers and address the issue. One solution is investing in medical education and training. The intent is to broaden pathways for clinical talent that bridges the widening gap, particularly in areas where the problem is particularly serious, like primary care. California-based Sutter Health is helping create more patient access with the development of new physician residency programs—the latest arriving in the Central Valley.
Sutter Memorial Medical Center in Modesto received national accreditation this month for new internal medicine and family medicine physician residency programs. Recruitment for the resident physicians for both programs will begin this fall. Thirty-nine resident physicians (26 in the internal medicine program and 13 in the family medicine program) will arrive at Sutter Memorial Medical Center in June 2025.
“Research shows the Central Valley is among the fastest growing regions of the state with a disproportionately low number of health providers,” said Dr. Robert Altman, president and CEO of Gould Medical Group, who has been an instrumental part of the local physician residency program development along with leaders from the hospital and Sutter Gould Medical Foundation. “We have tremendous opportunity with these programs to make meaningful differences in the lives of patients and families and further improve community health.”
Read more about the residency programs in The Modesto Bee
Sutter Health is on pace to become the largest community-based health care training institution in Northern California. It is expanding its graduate medical education footprint to train and graduate 1,000 resident and fellow physicians each year by 2030, and each year thereafter. Residents and fellows at Sutter currently train in specialty programs including internal medicine, surgery, family medicine, psychiatry, cardiology, hematology/oncology, gastroenterology, neurocritical care, pulmonary and critical care, transplant nephrology, with more programs in development.
In the Central Valley, Sutter Memorial Medical Center will offer an exceptional training environment for up-and-coming resident physicians. The 419-bed hospital is a Level II trauma center that provides 24-hour emergency care, inpatient and outpatient surgery, obstetrics, pediatrics, nuclear medicine, dialysis therapy, diagnostic imaging, intensive care and physical therapy. The medical center is a stroke center of excellence, and HealthGrades ranks it among America’s 50 Best Hospitals for overall clinical quality and vascular surgery, as well as among America’s 100 Best Hospitals overall the last four years in a row. The medical center is also located in Stanislaus County, a diverse community featuring rural areas and suburban neighborhoods, where approximately 50% of inhabitants are Hispanic according to 2022 American Community Survey data.
“We are preparing the next generation of caregivers to lead the field in delivering compassionate, equitable and evidence-based care,” said Dr. Lindsay Mazotti, Sutter Health’s chief medical officer of medical education and science. “Focusing on Modesto and the Central Valley allows us to help improve the health of our patients who are in critical need of better healthcare.”
For more information about the family medicine residency program, visit www.suttermd.com/education/residency/mmc-family-medicine. Additional information on the internal medicine residency program can be found by visiting www.suttermd.com/education/residency/mmc-internal-medicine.
