MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-MN) announced additional medical residency slots in five Minnesota teaching hospitals. The slots were created in the 2022 budget law supported by both Senators. The law authorized funding 1,000 new residency slots across the country over a five-year period to combat the nation’s physician shortage by training new providers. 69 of Minnesota’s 87 counties are health professional shortage areas, and nearly 30% of Minnesota physicians are within retirement range.
200 additional slots are awarded funding every year, and these five Minnesota hospitals were selected for the most recent round:
- Hennepin County Medical Center, Emergency Medicine
- CentraCare St. Cloud Hospital, Pediatrics
- Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Neurology
- University of Minnesota Medical Center, Child Neurology
- Children’s Minnesota, Pediatric Neurology
“Hospitals across Minnesota face a shortage of physicians, which is why I worked to secure this federal funding to invest in our state’s healthcare workforce. This funding means we can develop talent right here in Minnesota to better meet the needs of patients and to strengthen our healthcare system,” said Senator Klobuchar.
“We need to train more physicians, simple as that. This is a good start. I’m glad we were able to secure funding for additional residencies at five hospitals in Minnesota this year,” said Senator Smith. “We pride ourselves on providing world class health care in our state, but that’s only possible thanks to the incredible physicians and physicians-in-training who work here. We need to support them, and part of that means making sure we are training enough doctors to handle patient demand without burning out our physicians. This funding gets us one step closer to making that a reality.”
“This new funding is crucial in the University of Minnesota Medical School’s collaborative efforts to address the critical workforce shortage in child neurology and rural pediatrics across Minnesota, and ultimately provide improved care for these young patients,” said Dr. Bradley Benson, Chief Academic Officer at M Health Fairview and professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School. “These efforts would not be possible without our partners at M Health Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital, Children’s Minnesota, Gillette Children’s Hospital, CentraCare and Hennepin County Medical Center.”
Hennepin County Medical Center and University of Minnesota Medical Center also were selected for awards last year for Internal Medicine and Psychiatry, respectively. Decisions on which hospitals receive new slots are made by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS prioritized hospitals with training programs in geographic areas demonstrating the greatest need for additional providers. The newly awarded residency positions will be effective July 1, 2025.
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