YRMC may become a teaching hospital

Faced with an ongoing need to recruit new physicians, Yuma Regional Medical Center is "seriously exploring" the possibility of becoming a teaching hospital in hopes that some of the new doctors who train here will stay in Yuma.

"It's in the strategic plan," said Dr. Stewart Hamilton, chief medical officer and vice president of medical affairs for the hospital.

"A teaching hospital would have tremendous benefits for Yuma County," he said. "We're constantly struggling to recruit. We've done OK. In 2006-07, our medical staff grew 17 percent. But when (physicians) come look at this area, they expect to be overworked. You want to be busy but you don't want to be overwhelmed."

He noted that the state of Arizona has 219 physicians per 100,000 residents - far below the national average of 293. This shortage is most acute in rural communities such as Yuma, where in 2004, there were only 121 physicians per 100,000 people.

A big push has been under way to address the nation's shortage of physicians by increasing enrollment in medical schools, Hamilton said. In Arizona, the Midwestern Osteopathic School in Phoenix is boosting its enrollment from 100 to 250 students, and the University of Arizona College of Medicine campus in Phoenix is raising its enrollment from 25 last year to 100 or more a year.

"We have more medical students," Hamilton said. "But we need residency slots for them to train in Arizona and help keep them here. Without residency slots, we're sending our new physicians off to other states. Sixty percent will stay in the states where they train."

Teaching hospitals are essentially "classrooms" for physicians and other health care professionals, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges' Web site. The U.S. health care system relies on teaching hospitals for the clinical education of medical students.

During a primary care residency from three to four years, students would divide their time between lecture halls and caring for patients.

It's not going to happen overnight "and it's not like we can turn the tap on and have more physicians next year," Hamilton, explaining that starting a new residency program is difficult and costly.

"It's probably two or three years down the road. There are a lot of hurdles such as accreditation and funding. Then we would need to recruit students. Then it would be four years for the first graduates."

To be considered for such a program is a tribute to the high quality of YRMC's facility, equipment and staff, Hamilton said.

He noted that the plan also has been receiving strong support from the local community.

State Sen. Amanda Aguirre, in her role not only as a legislator but also as the head of the Regional Center for Border Health, is working closely with YRMC to fulfill the goal, Hamilton said. A cooperative agreement with that health care provider would serve a large and rapidly growing underserved population.