New Family Medicine and Internal Medicine Residency Programs to Begin at Baylor Scott & White - Round Rock

Programs aim to recruit physicians to Central Texas to meet growing care needs

AUSTIN, Texas (November 15, 2016) – A dozen new internal medicine and family medicine residents will join the team at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center -- - Round Rock and three of its local clinics in July 2017. Working under the supervision of Baylor Scott & White physicians, these medical school graduates will help meet the primary care needs of the community and ultimately may help alleviate the shortage of primary care physicians in Central Texas should they choose to stay after their training.

Primarily, their residency work will be done at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Round Rock, Scott & White Clinic – Round Rock at 425 University, Baylor Scott & White Clinic – Round Rock South, and Baylor Scott & White Clinic – Georgetown, but they will have access to all Baylor Scott & White Central Texas facilities.

"The family and internal medicine residency programs allow medical students from area schools to attend graduate medical education closer to home," said Suneel Vallabhaneni, MD, internal medicine residency program director. Additionally, Patricia Lopez-Gutierrez, MD, family medicine physician, will serve as the family medicine program director.

"Baylor Scott & White Health has a long-standing history of excellence in clinical education and research through its programs in both its North and Central Texas regions," Dr. Vallabhaneni said. "Our emphasis at this campus is to provide an engaging learning environment, cultivate a culture of lifelong learning and foster excellence in quality of care, patient experience, cost efficiency, and innovation toward personalized health and wellness."

The 12 residents – six in internal medicine and six in family medicine – will attend three years, with the same number of new residents added annually. By adding 12 residents each year, the total number of residents in 2018 will be 24 and the total number of residents in 2019 will increase to 36, and will remain at that number in subsequent years.

Texas ranks 47th in the U.S. in the number of active primary care physicians per 100,000 residents. Texas Medical Association studies show that physicians who complete both medical school and graduate medical education in the state are three times more likely to practice in Texas. Dr. Vallabhaneni anticipates that 30 to 35 percent of the residents will practice locally.

"These new residents will cultivate a more academic and research-driven environment that will deliver quality patient care, thus leading to better patient outcomes and improved patient satisfaction," he said.

A recent Travis County community health needs assessment identified a lack of community-based and preventative care services, as well as a shortage of providers and safety net clinics. A continuous increase in local Baylor Scott & White patient volume and the success of graduate medical education programs in Temple further supported the creation of these two residency programs, Dr. Vallabhaneni said.

Graduate medical education (GME) at Baylor Scott & White's Central Texas division is affiliated with Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine and has a long-standing history of success, with 21 residency programs and 24 fellowship programs. It is one of the largest GME programs in the U.S.

Baylor Scott & White's Central Texas facilities operate under one fully integrated electronic medical record (EMR) system. The organization’s mission focuses on population health and quality outcomes.

For more information on these new residency programs, please visit the following:

Family medicine: http://healthcare-professionals.sw.org/graduate-medical-education/residencies/family-medicine-round-rock/family-medicine

Internal medicine: http://healthcare-professionals.sw.org/graduate-medical-education/residencies/internal-medicine-round-rock/internal-medicine

About Baylor Scott & White Health
As the largest not-for-profit health system in the state of Texas, Baylor Scott & White promotes the health and well-being of every individual, family and community it serves. It is committed to making quality care more accessible, convenient and affordable through its integrated delivery network, which includes the Baylor Scott & White Health Plan, Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, the Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance and its leading digital health platform – MyBSWHealth. Through 51 hospitals and more than 1,200 access points, including flagship academic medical centers in Dallas, Fort Worth and Temple, the system offers the full continuum of care, from primary to award-winning specialty care. Founded as a Christian ministry of healing more than a century ago, Baylor Scott & White today serves more than three million Texans. For more information, visit: BSWHealth.com