The University of Chicago Medicine this week launched two medical residency programs at Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey.
Starting this week, medical school graduates across the country can apply for the two residency programs, one in family medicine and the other in internal medicine.
“We really envision Ingalls remaining as a community hospital, but really powered by academic medicine,” said Dr. Lakshmi Warrior, chief medical officer at UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial.
More Top Picks Best Dehumidifiers
Eight residents will enter the three-year family medicine program and 16 residents will enter the three-year internal medicine program in July 2027.
Warrior said residents will work at Ingalls Memorial Hospital and Family Christian Health Center, a nearby health center that provides care to under deserved communities. She said the family residency program in particular is in partnership with Family Christian Health Center.
Internal medicine residents will have the opportunity to work at an outpatient center being built to help connect discharged patients with care, according to a news release.
Pediatric rotations will take place at UChicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital on the health system’s main medical campus in Hyde Park.
While upper-level residents typically oversaw interns, this class will receive additional support because attending faculty will function as supervising physicians, said Dr. John Yoon, program director of the internal medicine residency, in a news release.
The family medicine residency has been approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, and the internal medicine program is expected to receive the council’s approval in September, according to the news release.
In addition to institutional funding from UChicago, the residencies are also supported by a $5 million grant from the Ingalls Development Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Ingalls Memorial Hospital that receives funding from grants and donations to support its community medicine investments, according to its website.
A BridgeGME Chicago grant, a collaboration between the Illinois College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Pritzker School of Medicine, will also support the residencies, according to the news release.
Mike Antoniades, president of UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial, said the university’s investment is more than just launching two new programs but strengthening the workforce in the Southland.
Warrior said these residencies will help address a shortage of physicians in the Southland and hopefully encourage residents to continue practicing in the area.
“We think it’s going to be really important to bring providers to an area where they’re really needed,” Warrior said.
Founded in 1923, Ingalls Memorial Hospital was built to recognize a need for a hospital in Harvey, an area where the median family income is about $42,429, according to Census.gov.
More Top Picks Best High Power Reading Glasses
About one in five residents in the hospital’s service area live below the poverty line, according to the news release.
In Harvey, about 43.8% of residents are covered through Medicaid compared to a suburban Cook County average of 18.5%, according to data from the Cook County Public Health Department.
By investing in this area, Warrior said it will not just help strengthen the next generation of physicians, but how the university and Ingalls serves the community.
“Taking care of populations like this is really important in educating that next generation of physician leaders,” Warrior said. “So this is really the university trying to do its part to really support this community that we serve.”