Bayhealth announces first physician residents

It was a momentous day at Bayhealth when the first class of medical residents joining the graduate medical education program was announced.

The residents were introduced at Bayhealth’s inaugural match day event. Match day is the first step in bringing 21 new physicians to central and southern Delaware to help increase access to care for the community.

“Match day is a defining moment in a medical student’s career. It’s the day they learn which residency or fellowship program they’ve matched with and where they’ll be spending the next several years training in their specialty,” said Assar Rather, MD, Bayhealth colorectal and general surgeon, and GME program chair. “All of us at Bayhealth are thrilled to share in that excitement today.”

Bayhealth’s first two residency programs are family medicine and internal medicine. Eight physician residents will join the family physician medicine residency. The internal medicine residency program will welcome 13 physician residents. The residents are medical doctors who will further their education working in the hospital setting as well as community-based physician practices.

“We are so excited to officially announce the residents that will be joining the Internal Medicine Residency Program,” said Joseph Deutsch, MD, program director. “The pool of applicants was outstanding. It was amazing to meet each one and find the perfect new physicians to join our program.”

“We are beyond thrilled to be here at match day and to introduce the first residents into our program,” said Brintha Vasagar, MD, family medicine residency program director. “We are making history not only for our health system but also for our community in improving access to care.”

The ultimate goal of the residency programs is to bring more physicians to central and southern Delaware to serve growing communities.

“As our region’s healthcare leader, Bayhealth is focused on meeting the needs of our community today while we plan for tomorrow,” said Terry M. Murphy, FACHE, Bayhealth president and CEO. “The GME program will invest in the careers of our next generation of clinical leaders while finding ways to bring physicians to Kent and Sussex counties to help meet the growing needs of our friends, neighbors and even our own families.”

Bayhealth first announced the creation of graduate and undergraduate medical education in March 2019. At full capacity, the family medicine practice will add more than 30,000 patient care visits per year and the internal medicine practice will add more than 20,000.

“Creating the GME program at Bayhealth has been years in the making,” said Gary Siegelman, MD, chief medical officer and GME designated institutional official. “We’re driven to make an impact for our community for years to come. Our hope is the residents we’re matched with feel a true connection to central and southern Delaware, and remain here to practice.”

Both programs will begin their inaugural year with their first classes of residents Thursday, July 1.