TUPELO, MS - September 12, 2005 - Cardiology Associates of North Mississippi (CANM) today announced it has partnered with the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson to expand UMC’s cardiology fellowship program by offering fellows on-site training in a private practice setting. CANM is one of the state’s largest private practice groups providing diagnosis and treatment of diseases and conditions of the heart and vascular system.
Under this new arrangement, CANM is providing funding for one additional UMC cardiology fellowship position, and every UMC fellow will rotate through Cardiology Associates for two months of intensive training, working side by side with CANM’s cardiologists to gain real-world experience. Further, North Mississippi Medical Center is helping support this program by providing housing for UMC’s cardiology fellows during their two-month rotations in Tupelo.
“We are very gratified to have this opportunity to play a more active role in helping train cardiologists in Mississippi,” said CANM administrator Eddie Barber. “It is well known that Mississippi is dealing with a shortage of physicians specializing in cardiology; we believe by working with UMC--which provides the only cardiology training program in the state--we can help materially bolster the number of cardiologists in Mississippi.”
Michael Winniford, M.D., professor of medicine and vice chair of the department for cardiovascular services at UMC said, “We feel CANM and NMMC have a great deal to offer our training program, in particular, a new perspective that our fellows have not previously had. They spend most of their time at UMC and the Veterans Administration hospital in Jackson, so this new rotation provides them a different viewpoint, an opportunity to gain direct experience in a private practice setting.
“CANM’s reputation is that of being a very high quality group, offering a full range of cardiology services. . .our fellows will gain valuable experience in CANM’s outpatient clinics, in their cardiac imaging laboratories, and they also will be immersed in the community hospital environment,” Dr. Winniford said.
George Hand, cardiovascular services administrator at North Mississippi Medical Center agrees. “Clearly the real-world perspectives of practicing in a community based hospital and a private practice setting are a lot different than practicing in a teaching hospital environment. We feel when cardiology fellows train here, that may assist in recruiting them to settle and practice here in the future. Exposing them to this part of the state and what we have to offer may well cause them to want to locate here to practice in the future.”
UMC, CANM and NMMC all believe this new arrangement will provide more robust, in-depth cardiology training for fellows, and is a true win-win situation for all parties, especially Mississippi’s healthcare consumers in need of the very best possible cardiac care.
Physicians aspiring to specialize in cardiology must complete a rigorous fellowship program, typically requiring three to four years after they have already completed medical school, their internship and their residency. For those seeking further sub-specialization in interventional cardiology, for example, another year of training is also required. UMC’s cardiology fellowship program encompasses a three-year training period.
CANM’s Joseph C. Adams, M.D., who went through UMC’s three-year cardiology fellowship and a one-year interventional cardiology fellowship at Duke University, stated, “The University Medical Center receives only a certain amount of annual funding for its cardiology fellowship positions, but typically is accredited for more fellowship positions than they have funding. So CANM is stepping up to the plate by underwriting one additional fellow position. I know I’d have appreciated the added depth of training this program offers, had it been in place while I was a UMC cardiology fellow.
“During each fellow’s rotation, he or she will be working five days a week for two full months, very much in the thick of things. It will be great for them, and for us,” said Dr. Adams.
“There are numerous positives that result from this new relationship,” said Barber. “First and foremost it better supports Mississippi’s need for more cardiologists. It provides valuable additional training and insight for UMC’s fellows. It gives CANM physicians the opportunity to mentor and teach, an aspect of fulfillment they enjoy. And it exposes quality candidates to all the good things we have to offer here in north Mississippi, which may well enhance our opportunities to add new cardiologists to our team in the future.”
Cardiology Associates of North Mississippi operates a network of clinics covering much of northeast Mississippi. This makes possible greater access to care for a general populace recognized to be well above national averages for obesity, diabetes and lack of exercise, which are leading contributors to heart problems. CANM is headquartered in Tupelo, operates outpatient facilities in Tupelo, Columbus, Starkville and Oxford, and employs a staff of more than 100, including 17 cardiologists.
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