Supporting the health of our community, not just financially but holistically, is important to our staff and members. That’s why we are pleased to announce that we have committed $15,000 ($3,000 per year for five years) to support a new family medicine residency program designed to attract and retain young physicians to Franklin County. Led by Founding Chair Dr. Robert Baldor, the Department of Family Medicine is a partnership between Baystate Franklin Medical Center and UMass Chan Medical School-Baystate.
Franklin County is an underserved area when it comes to primary health care and many of the local providers are older and close to retirement. We are happy to help attract new physicians to our area through this endeavor.
The residency will be housed at the Greenfield Family Medicine Practice at 48 Sanderson Street, which is adjacent to Baystate Franklin Medical. The 18,000 square foot facility will be dedicated to family medicine and will accommodate a team-based care practice and educational space for teaching and mentoring. Once fully operational, it has the potential to double the number of physician appointments available in Hampshire and Franklin counties.
Family medicine physicians are trained to treat all members of a family—from children to adults and seniors—diagnosing and treating a wide range of ailments and providing preventative care. They adapt their practices to meet the specific medical needs of their communities with an emphasis on outpatient medicine, continuity of care, health maintenance and disease prevention.
The Department of Family Medicine/UMass Chan Medical School-Baystate will welcome four new residents annually into the three-year training program (12 in total), who will learn from the physicians at Baystate Franklin Medical Center and specialists from Franklin County and other Baystate Health facilities. The first class of four residents will arrive in June 2022 and the Greenfield Family Medicine Practice will open in the spring of 2023. This is the first Baystate Health academic department housed outside Springfield, and the first accredited family medicine training program in the region.
Historically, according to Dr. Baldor, 85% of residents who train in family medicine residencies practice as primary care providers, and 39% of those physicians stay close to the community where they trained.
Freedom’s $15,000 donation is among $245,700 that has been donated in support of the hospital’s $4.2 million investment in creating a state-of-the-art clinical/teaching facility at 48 Sanderson Street. Two education grants from the federal government will support the program as well, including a $750,000 Health Resources & Services Administration grant and an Area Health Education Center grant for $100,000.