Woodlawn receives $750K grant for new rural residency program

Woodlawn Health will train and hopefully recruit the next generation of doctors, thanks to a federal grant award of $750,000 to develop a rural residency program.

Woodlawn Health COO Brad Rogers announces that the Rural Residency Planning and Development Grant, administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will provide funding to Woodlawn Health over a 3-year period.  

The dilemma of needing providers led leadership to apply for a grant to become a residency site for medical students. 

“One of the struggles I’ve had in the COO position is recruiting positions,” Rogers said in announcing the funding. “It’s hard to get a doctor to come to a small community.” 

The health system has added four doctors, four nurse practitioners and one physician assistant in the last year. Still, it needs more providers to meet the community’s needs.  

“We currently need two more primary care doctors to meet the demands of our community,” Rogers confirmed.  

Woodlawn was thrilled to learn it was selected to receive the grant. The health system was the only recipient in Indiana to be awarded the grant.  

To become doctors, students first need to complete their bachelor’s degree. They then need to finish medical school before becoming residents, a three-year rotation program. One of those sites could be Woodlawn Health.  

For the next three years, the team will work to set up the program and add a position to manage it. After that process, they will apply to become an accredited resident site. The goal is to train the next generation of healthcare professionals in rural medicine and attract new doctors to the team. Woodlawn should have their first cohort of residents in 2028.  

“This is an exciting time to be a part of Woodlawn Health. We have turned the corner, and we are growing. This program will allow us to educate and hopefully recruit the next generation of doctors for the community as we earn the right to care for our area,” Rogers said.  “We are so honored to be given this opportunity knowing it will benefit not only our organization but community and industry as well." 

Only 2 percent of residency training occurs in rural areas, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration. Training physicians in rural areas improves access to care. It also increase the likelihood of practicing in a rural community. 

In 2019, the administration funded its first cohorts of Rural Residency Planning and Development awards. Since then, it has awarded $64 million to 84 grantees in 38 states and one territory.  

As of May 2024, award recipients have created: 

• 46 new accredited rural residency programs
• Around 575 approved new residency positions in rural areas 
• 31 programs that enrolled 306 resident physicians to train in rural settings. 

Eligible specialties include family medicine, internal medicine, preventative medicine, psychiatry, general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology. 

Woodlawn Health COO Brad Rogers announces the federal grant funding at Monday's meeting of county commissioners.