As NJ faces physician shortage, new Holy Name residency program will train 90 physicians per year.
(Courtesy of Holy Name Hospital) As New Jersey faces a critical shortage of physicians, Holy Name received a $3.3 million federal appropriation to launch a new graduate medical education program in the U.S. Senate omnibus bill signed by President Biden.
Holy Name intends to train 90 doctors per year in clinical specialties including internal medicine, psychiatry, general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, orthopedics, nephrology and palliative care. The appropriation will fund the initial cost to renovate 8,400 square feet of the hospitaland purchase the needed equipment to launch the new residency program.
“There is nothing more important in healthcare right now than strengthening our future workforce. No one fought harder than Senator Menendez to ensure adequate funding to launch a new graduate medical education program, training 90 new physicians here at Holy Name each year,” said Michael Maron, president and CEO of Holy Name. “We’re also grateful for the committed leadership of Senator Booker, Congressman Pascrell and Congressman Gottheimer, who fought for legislation in 2020 to raise the cap on the arbitrary number of allotted medical students we’re allowed to train. With New Jersey’s physician workforce facing significant pandemic-related retirements, this will be an important game-changer.”
New Jersey currently suffers from a shortage of physicians. The U.S. Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) predicts that by 2025, New Jersey will be one of 37 states with a primary care doctor shortage, and among a dozen where the shortfall will be at least 1,000 fewer physicians than needed.
According to data from the New Jersey Hospital Association (NJHA), a third of NJ’s practicing physicians are over 60 years old, the third highest in the nation, and the state ranks 46th in the nation in the percentage of doctors under 40. Each year, New Jersey has approximately 3,100 physician residents in training at 43 hospitals. At the same time, NJHA estimates that New Jersey has approximately 32 medical students and resident physicians in training per 100,000 residents compared to 81 and 62 in neighboring New York and Pennsylvania, respectively.
