UChicago Medicine invests in Southland physician pipeline with new residencies at Ingalls Memorial

The University of Chicago Medicine is undertaking a major investment in primary care physician training in Chicago’s Southland with the launch of two new medical residency programs at UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey.

Beginning Sept. 2, medical school graduates may apply for family medicine residency at UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) — the centralized platform used to apply to residency programs participating in the national Match process. Administrators for the new Internal Medicine program expect to begin accepting applications through ERAS in late September.

The two programs are part of a strategic plan for UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial to become the model of an academic community hospital.

“This investment is about more than launching two residency programs,” said Mike Antoniades, President of UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial. “It’s about strengthening the physician workforce in the Southland and building the kind of academic community hospital that can serve this region for generations to come.”

The residencies will help UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial address a shortage of physicians in the Southland and strengthen the healthcare workforce serving local communities. Roughly one-third of the patient population served by UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial is covered by Medicaid; nearly 1 in 5 residents in the hospital’s service area live below the federal poverty level.

“There’s a big push to correct these physician shortages and geographic maldistribution by expanding residency training opportunities, particularly in areas where there are health profession shortages and workforce needs,” said Vineet Arora, MD, Dean for Medical Education at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. “Where you train in residency predicts where you practice.”

Residency programs to expand over three-year period

Eight residents will enter the three-year family medicine program in July 2027, for a total of 24 residents once fully staffed in 2029. 

The residents will spend most of their time at UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial and Family Christian Health Center, a nearby federally qualified health center that provides care to underserved communities. Pediatric rotations will take place at UChicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital on the health system’s main medical campus in Hyde Park on the city’s South Side.

“Residents will have the opportunity to really train at the intersection of clinical excellence and community-centered care,” said Roxanne Smith, MD, Program Director of the Family Medicine Residency at UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial. “This is a really unique opportunity for residents to train in a program that partners with trusted institutions, such as Family Christian Health Center, to address the social and structural forces that influence health.” 

Sixteen residents will begin the three-year internal medicine residency next July, for a total of 48 residents at full capacity. Internal medicine residents will spend part of their time at a new outpatient clinic being built to help connect discharged patients with care.

The family medicine residency is approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education; the internal medicine program is expected to receive the council’s approval in September.

Highly personal training for Ingalls Memorial residents

As the inaugural class, the first batch of residents will benefit from a unique opportunity, said John Yoon, MD, Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency. 

“Normally, upper-level residents oversee interns, but this initial class will receive additional personalized attention because attending faculty will be functioning as the supervising physicians as we build up the program,” Yoon said. 

Patients also are expected to benefit from the programs because of the opportunities for advanced care and increased physician capacity that the residencies create.

“When physicians are given the opportunity to teach, it keeps them at the top of their game — every case gets a second look, which benefits the patient,” said Lakshmi Warrior, MD, Chief Medical Officer at UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial. “Resident trainees will also have a smaller roster of patients, meaning they can provide more personalized attention to each individual.”

Those benefits, program administrators said, support positive learning environments that could compel new physicians to remain in the Southland once their training is complete. 

Planning for future growth in residency programs

UChicago Medicine and UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial have spent the past three years integrating their services and hiring hospitalists to build out the residency programs. 

“As the health system continues to integrate, we’re finding opportunities for medical education throughout the health system," said Christine Babcock, MD, Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education. “I think we’ll continue to explore and expand that.” 

In addition to institutional funding from UChicago Medicine, the family medicine and internal medicine residencies are supported by a $5 million grant from the Ingalls Development Foundation to renovate space for resident call rooms and offices. 

The American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Innovations in Graduate Medical Education Development is also supporting the residencies via the BridgeGME Chicago grant, a collaboration between the Chicago School’s Illinois College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Pritzker School of Medicine that aims to expand primary care residency training in underserved communities.