A partnership between Mercy Fort Smith and Arkansas Colleges of Health Education (ACHE) will bring a new residency program to Mercy and an annual $23 million economic boost to the Fort Smith region.
The new residency program will be created thanks to a $1.3 million donation from ACHE. The partnership provides for the addition of new graduate medical education programs, with the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (ARCOM) acting as the sponsoring institution, and will begin the process of creating 48 medical residency slots at the hospital, according to a news release from Mercy. The residencies are expected to begin in mid-2021 or early 2022.
The partnership between ARCOM and Mercy intends to retain physicians in the area while boosting Mercy’s staffing numbers. It will address the physician shortage by “attracting and keeping the best and brightest minds in medicine in the area,” said Dr. Rance McClain, ARCOM dean. “With the combination of both organizations’ available resources and aligned mission, we can create a robust and rich academic environment in the Fort Smith and River Valley community.”
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