Mississippi Invests $3 Million in Physician Residency and Fellowship Programs

10/05/2023

JACKSON, MS —To improve the quality of the healthcare workforce across Mississippi, $3 million has been awarded to five hospitals and health networks throughout the state to grow physician residencies and fellowships.

The Physician Residency and Fellowship Start-Up Grant Program, created by Senate Bill 3113 in the 2023 legislative session, is aimed at creating new or increasing capacity in physician residency and fellowship programs at general acute care hospitals. This bill appropriated a total of $28 million in ARPA funds to boost a wide spectrum of healthcare careers.

“Healthcare is a foundational piece of a healthy economy, and there is a critical need for more high-quality providers to keep Mississippians healthy,” said Garrett McInnis, Deputy Director for External Affairs at Accelerate Mississippi.  “Our state’s leadership is showing a strong commitment to strengthening the physician workforce across our state, and we believe these grants will increase the quality of healthcare in critical specialties in all corners of Mississippi.”

Through this one-time grant program, the following hospitals will be able to expand post-graduate medical opportunities as early as 2024:

• Delta Health System will receive $375,000 for re-expansion of the network’s family medicine residency program.
• Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto will receive $375,000 to establish the state’s first osteopathic neuromusculoskeletal medicine residency program.
• Mississippi Baptist Medical Center will receive $750,000 earmarked for a new internal medical residency program.
• Memorial Hospital at Gulfport will receive $750,000 to expand its internal medicine program.
• North Mississippi Medical Center will receive $750,000 toward increasing its internal medical residency program.

Mississippi has made significant investments in increasing the number of Mississippi medical school graduates over the next five years and data has shown that physicians are more likely to stay and work in communities where they do their post-graduate medical education either through residencies or fellowships.

AccelerateMS serves the people and businesses of Mississippi by developing and deploying workforce strategies to connect individuals with transformative, high-paying careers. By leveraging resources and partnering with organizations that hold complementary missions, AccelerateMS effectuates positive change, creating sustained individual, community, and, statewide economic prosperity.