Upstate Medical, SCHC to develop urban family-medicine residency program

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Syracuse Community Health Center (SCHC) is working with Upstate Medical University to develop an urban family-medicine residency program.

The federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) awarded SCHC a grant to help pay for the program. The grant totaled $500,000, an SCHC spokesman tells CNYBJ.

The SCHC is a state-licensed diagnostic and treatment center serving more than 30,000 patients in the Syracuse area.

The new residency program seeks to increase the number of primary-care providers trained to support the needs of urban patients. It also wants to attract “diverse residents, especially those in traditionally underrepresented groups,” per a news release on the Upstate Medical University website.

SCHC will develop the program in conjunction with Upstate Medical’s family medicine department. The first class of residents will begin the program in July 2024.

“It is critical that we attract, support and develop a diverse group of primary care providers that understand the unique needs of urban communities and this program will focus on that challenge,” Mark Hall, president and CEO at Syracuse Community Health Center, said in the release. “We are extremely grateful for this grant and are very enthusiastic about our partnership with Upstate Medical University to develop this very unique program.” 

Both organizations are pursuing accreditation for the program from ACGME, creating a “comprehensive” curriculum focused on urban medicine and matriculating four residents in July 2024. ACGME is the acronym for the Chicago, Illinois–based nonprofit Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

“This partnership with SCHC will both create an excellent training opportunity for family medicine residents and further Upstate’s commitment to serve our inner-city community,” Dr. Mantosh Dewan, president of Upstate Medical University, said.