Bayhealth Family Medicine Residency Program Earns ACGME Accreditation

In 2018, Bayhealth began the process to launch graduate medical education (GME) programs for physicians who have recently graduated from medical school, also called residencies. While there have been many months of developing and planning the program, one of the biggest hurdles is becoming accredited. Bayhealth is pleased to announce the Family Medicine Residency Program earned accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) on Feb. 3, 2020.

“We are so excited to share that the Bayhealth Family Medicine Residency Program has earned its accreditation. The family medicine residency will not only bring formal academics to our healthcare system but will also bring much needed primary care to our community,” said Bayhealth Family Medicine Residency Program Director Brintha Vasagar, MD, MPH, FAAFP. “We are committed to recruiting only the highest caliber medical students to join our first class of residents and establish a culture of excellence."

With the Family Medicine Residency Program accredited, Bayhealth now has a confirmed start date of July 2021 for the first class of family medicine residents. The residents will report directly to Dr. Vasagar but will work with a large faculty of attending physicians at Bayhealth.

One of the key benefits to the Family Medicine Residency Program is that it will provide more care to the community by licensed physicians by adding eight new resident physicians each year, each of whom will practice for three years. Residents, under the supervision and guidance of attending physicians, and will learn to provide excellent care for all ages. When the program reaches full capacity, the 24 residents, in addition to the faculty, will add more than 30,000 patient care visits for the community each year. Moreover, the hope is many of the residents grow to love Delaware and choose to continue to provide care in our community.

As Bayhealth continues to develop the residency program, Dr. Vasagar will begin recruiting fourth-year medical students. Match Day—where residents are paired with a GME program at hospitals across the country—will take place in March 2021. That's when Bayhealth will announce who has been selected to join the inaugural class of Bayhealth’s Family Medicine Residency Program starting in July 2021. 

Visit ACGME.org for more information on the ACGME.