>Making Primary Care a Primary Concern
Teaching hospitals are adding primary care residencies, but despite best efforts New Jersey still faces a looming shortage of primary care physicians
By Beth Fitzgerald,
In an attempt to ease New Jersey’s shortage of primary care doctors, the state’s teaching hospitals are increasing the number of residencies they offer in that discipline.
It’s a necessary effort. But with fewer than 20 new positions all told, it’s nowhere near to making a dent in the 1,500 primary care physicians needed in the state by 2014. That’s when 600,000 currently uninsured New Jerseyans will be eligible for government-subsidized coverage under the Affordable Care Act — and will start looking for doctors.
The ACA itself it helping with the problem. A five-year, $10.5 million grant is funding primary care residencies at Cooper University Hospital, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. And a $795,000 five-year grant to the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University will help ensure new students will begin their training by serving one day a week in the school’s primary care clinic.
