Beebe CEO has dream of medical education campus

Editor’s note: This is the third part of a three-part series about Beebe Healthcare and the growing demand for healthcare services in Sussex County. 

Beebe Healthcare President and CEO Dr. David Tam has a vision for a medical school in Sussex County that would be part of a campus where several medical disciplines would be taught.

“I think of a medical school as an anchor tenant of a healthcare education institution that also should include things like pharmacy techs, lab techs, radiology techs, dentists, pharmacists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, because all those people are necessary for Sussex County’s population growth,” Tam said.

Beebe and others now operate nurse training programs, but that could also be included in a medical campus, he said. As could advanced practitioners, such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners, physical and occupational therapists, and psychologists.

More medical training is needed to counter a growing demand for healthcare professionals nationwide, a trend that has hit Delaware and Sussex County, in particular, especially hard, Tam said.

The American Association of Medical Colleges and the American Medical Association both predict that by 2035, there will be a shortage of 70,000 to 140,000 physicians nationwide. The COVID-19 pandemic took its toll, as burnout and health concerns prompted some to leave the profession. The next blow will come soon, as the vast majority of doctors are approaching retirement age.

Figures released in January show Delaware stands last among states nationwide for access to primary-care physicians, meeting the needs of only 14.85% of its residents.

There were no figures specific to Sussex County, but the demand is more acute here, and getting worse. With thousands of retirees moving to Sussex County each year for seaside living and low taxes, county residents already dealing with a doctor shortage will have an increasing need for medical care associated with aging, Tam said.

“Shortage is based upon the demand and the need – supply and demand,” he said. “And the demand is going up as well. Because at the same time that’s happening, a lot of those doctors are turning 65. It’s a reflection that overall, the United States population is also aging. As you age, and as I shared with Sussex County Council, older people require more healthcare. That’s why there’s going to be a physician shortage no matter what. We just don’t know to what extent.”

The state and schools with various kinds of medical training programs need to work on solutions, said Tam, who estimates each physician hired requires three to six support staff. 

“Our current process for bringing physicians into Delaware, especially Sussex County, needs work,” Tam said.

In lieu of a state-supported medical school, the state in 1969 created the Delaware Institute of Medical Education and Research. The program reserves 20 admissions slots for Delaware residents at Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University of Philadelphia and 10 at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.  

“That program has been demonstrated to not provide physicians back to Sussex County,” Tam said. “Part of the problem is, there is no obligation.”

Tam said there should be a requirement for working in Delaware upon graduation, much like the military mandates a certain number of years of service in exchange for medical training. Tam said he had to serve in the Navy to repay his debt for training at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. He retired after a 24-year career.

There had been only one Sussex County representative on the DIMER board, until it was increased to three in the past year, Tam said.

The program has historically been dominated by New Castle County. The majority of students came from that county, did medical residencies there and remained there to practice, Tam said.

Beebe and Bayhealth have medical residency programs to train and hopefully retain physicians, said Tam. But he said that may not be enough.

“The research has shown that people who graduate from a medical school in a certain area, and especially if they have residency training in a certain area, will stay in that area,” he said.

If a medical school is to be created in Delaware, the project needs the support of the state, healthcare providers, colleges and others, said Tam, who sits on the healthcare subcommittee of the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council.

The Delaware General Assembly passed legislation last year calling for the creation of a medical college in the state as soon as possible. Gov. Matt Meyer supported the concept, and there is money in the state budget for a study of some kind.

There are no funds allocated to actually develop a medical school, and Tam said it will be difficult.

“I guarantee it,” he said. “The entity that moves it forward and presents the idea will be considered and criticized or potentially looked at as, ‘You’re nuts, you’re crazy, you can’t do that.’ But that’s where we have to start. Because especially in a state like ours, we have to create something as an idea and move it forward and get people to align with it over a period of time.”