New York state Assemblyman Bill Reilich (R,C,I-Greece) announced $1,829,228 in funding to support resident training programs in four teaching hospitals in Rochester.
The funding, part of the state’s Health Care Reform Act Graduate Medical Education (GME) Reform Incentive Pool, will support physician training in hospital and ambulatory-care settings, as well as the advancement of skilled clinical research initiatives, Reilich said.
"Our region has one of the best health care systems in New York, and I appreciate the governor’s commitment to ensuring that upstate families have access to excellent medical care," Reilich said. "The funding for these training programs will further ensure that graduating doctors are provided the expert training and research abilities they need to provide patients with the high quality medical care they deserve."
Reilich said the Rochester region will receive a total of $1,829,228 to be distributed to the GME Consortium of Rochester, which includes Highland Hospital of Rochester, Rochester General Hospital, Strong Memorial Hospital and Unity Health Systems.
The lawmaker said that for the second consecutive year, Gov. George Pataki has dedicated a portion of funds to support skilled clinical research training under the Empire Clinical Research Investigator Program (ECRIP). Approximately $6.9 million of these funds will support 88 research positions statewide in 31 teaching hospitals and three consortia of medical education institutions. The initiative will help advance health care research in the areas of heart disease, cancer, AIDS, obesity, diabetes, kidney transplantation and pneumococcal vaccination, among others.
"Clearly, the importance of good residency training cannot be overemphasized," Reilich said. "In-house training for future physicians is a vital part of their education. This funding will be very helpful and will go a long way to ensure that our hospitals offer the services of highly skilled and qualified medical personnel."