MS Delta Family Medicine Residency Program

Greenville, MS: Delta Health System has been awarded an AccelerateMS Grant of $375,000 through the Physician Residency and Fellowship Start-Up Program. The funds are earmarked for the expansion of the Mississippi Delta Family Residency Program. The Mississippi Delta Family Medicine Residency is the first Graduate Medical Education (GME) training program developed under the leadership of the Mississippi Medical Education and Research Consortium (MSMERC).

“On behalf of Delta Health System, I am honored to accept this grant money to assist the Mississippi Delta Family Residency Program move forward with enhancing their residents, staff, and facility. We were one of the five hospitals and networks in Mississippi to receive a portion of the Accelerate Mississippi’s $3 million and I can assure everyone that our team has put together a stellar plan for the grant money,” said Iris Stacker, Delta Health System Chief Executive Officer. “The residency program has already changed the primary care medicine landscape in the Delta and state in a positive direction so we can continue to expect encouraging results in the years to come. We are very appreciative of the grant funds.”

The funds will be utilized to enhance operations, purchase equipment, and update staffing needs to grow the family medicine residency program which is entering the fourth year of existence.

"The residency program is very pleased and very grateful to be awarded this grant from AccelerateMS to enhance the capacity of our fully accredited graduate medical education postdoctoral training program in Family Medicine in the Delta. The residency will use these grant funds to expand our training program to its full capacity of 24 residents to serve Delta Health System’s catchment counties' patients in both the ambulatory and inpatient service areas and provide full service primary care to patients of all ages in the Delta,” said Dr. Leesa Phillips, Designated Institutional Official Mississippi Medical and Educational Research Consortium. “More than 70% of our first graduating class of family physicians in June of 2023 are currently practicing in the Delta, and these funds will help us continue our mission of providing primary care doctors in the medically underserved communities of Mississippi. We deeply appreciate the support of the Delta Health System administration and medical staff of our principal training site (Delta Health System in Greenville) and look forward to adding the medical staff and services that will improve our physician training program and the health of our communities."

Dr. Brent Smith, MS Delta Family Medicine Residency Program Director commented, "We are excited to receive this grant and the support of Accelerate MS, as it will serve a vital part of achieving our greater mission...training family doctors to care for the unique needs of our community, the Mississippi Delta. Not only will this help us provide better care and service to the patients we care for in our residency clinic, but it will further our resident's knowledge and ability to care for these patients once they enter practice. We know, and the research consistently backs this up, that physicians trained in rural areas with the needs of rural areas in mind are the best investment a community can make in the health of its population and workforce.”