Newswise — February 13 ― Brick, NJ ― Hackensack Meridian Health Ocean Medical Center announced that it recently received initial accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) for residency training programs in family medicine and psychiatry, practice areas in which there are serious shortages of physicians expected in New Jersey and the nation.
“With this ACGME accreditation, Ocean Medical Center will become a premier community teaching hospital,’’ said Dean Q. Lin, MBA, FACE, FCPP, regional president of Hackensack Meridian Health and president of Ocean Medical Center.
“We face critical physician shortages in the areas of psychiatry and family medicine,’’ Mr. Lin said. “Our ACGME-approved residency programs will help train the next generation of health care providers while increasing access to high-quality care for Ocean and Monmouth counties, the state’s two fastest growing counties.’’
Now accredited to offer residencies in family medicine and psychiatry, Ocean Medical Center has received tremendous interest from medical students across the country. The Graduate Medical Education (GME) team received approximately 2,800 applications for the inaugural class of 14 residents. Ocean Medical Center expects approval for an additional residency program in Internal Medicine in the spring of 2018.
Eight residents will be selected from more than 1,900 applicants for the family medicine program, which is a three-year training program. Six residents will be selected from more than 975 applicants for the psychiatry program, which is a four-year training program. Interviews are now complete and medical students who have registered through the NRMP Match Program will receive letters in March from the 2018 Match. Resident applicants who have successfully matched with the Ocean Medical Center program will be awarded one of the 14 available positions. The inaugural class will start in July of 2018.
“Ocean Medical Center’s residency programs will attract exceptional new physicians to this area and increase access to care,’’ said Thomas Brandeisky, D.O., designated institutional official and chair, Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC).
Ocean Medical Center is an independent community teaching hospital that has been involved with medical education for several years. It is affiliated with Rowan University’s School of Osteopathic Medicine from which medical students complete their third year core curriculum through a variety of clinical clerkships at Ocean Medical Center.
Some of Ocean Medical Center’s faculty have dual appointments at Rowan University and the new Seton Hall-Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, scheduled to open later this year pending accreditation.
“Ocean Medical Center’s psychiatry program will be a community-based program,’’ said Ramon Solhkhah, M.D., program director for psychiatry as well as training director and chair of psychiatry at the Seton Hall University-Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. “Our new psychiatry residency program will improve clinical care and ultimately encourage future health care leaders to build practices in the Jersey Shore area,’’ as stated by Dr. Solhkhah.
“Our family medicine residency program will help address the critical need for primary care providers,’’ said Kelly Ussery-Kronhaus, M.D., program director for family medicine, medical director of GME, and vice chair of family medicine at the Seton Hall-Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine.
For more information about Ocean Medical Center’s GME program, please visit OceanMedicalCenter.com/GME. For additional information, please contact Catherine Sheridan at [email protected]. For information on the psychiatry residency program, contact Lauran Jones at [email protected]. For information on the family medicine residency program, contact Christine Lake at [email protected].
ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH OCEAN MEDICAL CENTER
Ocean Medical Center, serving southern Monmouth and Ocean counties, is ranked #8 in New Jersey by U.S. News and World Report for two consecutive years. The medical center also features a satellite Emergency Care Center in Point Pleasant, the Ocean Care Center, and hospital-based programs at Jackson Health Village.
In addition to its high ranking in U.S News and World Report, Ocean Medical Center has achieved a host of certifications and awards: advanced levels of certification with The Joint Commission for joint replacement, palliative care and stroke (Primary Stroke Center that offers a state-of-the art brain lab and neurological surgery); a designated center of excellence by the American College of Radiology; Magnet award winning nurses; 2017 Get with the Guidelines continuous quality improvement awards including: Heart Failure Gold Plus Award, Stroke Gold Plus and Stroke Honor Roll Elite Awards and Action Registry Platinum Award; Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence Award for one of the highest levels of team member engagement in the nation; and an “A” grade from the LeapFrog Group’s Hospital Safety Score initiative.
The medical center has made significant investments in programs and services. In 2014, Ocean Medical Center opened a state-of-the-art Emergency Department that provides the highest level of care and comfort in a tranquil setting. In 2016, a new comprehensive Cancer Center that provides the latest radiation therapy technologies was revealed. In 2017, the final phase of the $82 million expansion project concluded with the opening of an innovative medical surgical floor with 36 private patient beds that was uniquely designed to bring humanity back to health care. Future developments include the launch of Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) approved residency programs in family medicine and psychiatry in 2018.
Other key services include: DaT Scan and advanced imaging technology; DaVinci robotic surgery; general, thoracic, and vascular surgery; one of the region’s most advanced cardiac catheterization laboratories and cardiac services; maternity, acute care of the elderly and critical care services.
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