Graduate Medical Education / Residency

Training Tomorrow's Health Care Professionals at Good Samaritan

In collaboration with three local hospitals, Good Samaritan has agreed to enter a consortium to receive post-graduate residency students. Starting in 2019, Good Samaritan will receive residency students Psychiatry and then in 2020 Internal Medicine residents will start. Good Samaritan will have the opportunity to become a “home base” for one or two specialties where residents will be able to have outpatient clinics and assist with the growing shortage of primary care physicians.

“In many rural areas and recently seen in southwestern Indiana, there is a physician shortage among hospitals, particularly in primary care,” states Rob McLin, President and CEO. “Having medical students complete their residency at Good Samaritan not only provides extended medical care to our community and southwestern Indiana, but those students are more likely to establish a practice in the area. Most residents will come from Indiana University School of Medicine and Marian University, but the opportunity is available to all medical school graduates across the country,” adds McLin.

According to a presentation given to the board by Dr. Steven G. Becker, Director and Associate Dean at the Indiana University School of Medicine at the Evansville Campus, participating in this program will increase Good Samaritan’s opportunity to attract private and public funding at all levels and hospitals with residency programs show improved quality of care.

“This is a great opportunity for our hospital and community,” states McLin. “Having residents at Good Samaritan not only helps with physician recruitment, but it also allows us to provide care to more community members who may be having trouble finding a physician. This opportunity also allows our physicians and the students to learn from each other and ultimately provide improved patient care.” It will cost Good Samaritan $250,000 per year for 4 years to participate in this consortium with St. Mary’s, Deaconess, both located in Evansville, Indiana, and Jasper Memorial. Fundraising efforts will be in place to provide financial support for this program. However, this $1 million investment is expected to result in a $3.5 million per year return to Good Samaritan after five years. “It is our goal to receive enough reimbursement to make this a self-sustained program after the first initial year of fundraising,” adds McLin.

If approved, Good Samaritan will be the “home base” of Internal Medicine and Psychiatry physicians in order to attract more students of these specialties to the Vincennes area. “Before a medical resident student is placed at a certain hospital, they go through an interview process where the student and the committee express their top locations where the residency will take place,” states McLin. “Knowing that these residents preferred to practice in a rural area like Vincennes, Indiana, increases the likelihood of them staying and establishing a medical practice here in our community.”

There will be numerous meetings and additional agreements made between universities and the hospitals participating in the consortium over the next three years.