UAMS has received a $2.5 million grant from the Arkansas Legislature to expand its residency programs in south Arkansas.
The state’s Joint Budget Committee approved UAMS’ request for $2,550,225 in funding from the restricted reserve fund to support the development of family medicine residency programs in El Dorado and Crossett. The funds will help create 22 new residency slots in hospitals in the two cities as well as one new family medicine obstetrics fellowship.
The grant comes almost one year after UAMS held the grand opening of the new UAMS Health Family Medical Center in El Dorado, part of UAMS’ efforts to reestablish a regional campus in El Dorado. Through regional campuses around the state, UAMS is aiming to create educational and training pipelines to address the state’s shortage of primary care physicians in rural communities.
“Expanding the number of physicians starting their careers in Arkansas through their medical residency increases the chance they will remain in the state to practice, so partnering with hospitals around the state to increase the number of residency slots is a pathway for addressing physician shortages in rural Arkansas,” Stephanie Gardner, UAMS provost and chief strategy officer, said in a press release. “We are grateful for the State of Arkansas providing startup funds for these new family medicine residency programs in Crossett and El Dorado.”
The Crossett program earned accreditation in 2023 and enrolled its first cohort of residents in 2024. The El Dorado program aims to earn accreditation this year and enroll its first residents in the summer of 2026. Trainees in both programs will complete part of their residency in Little Rock at UAMS and Arkansas Children’s Hospital, though most of their training will be spent in south Arkansas-based rural clinical settings.
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