Cook County Emergency Medicine Residency Program Accepts Top 17 of 1,300 Applicants This Year

Cook County Health Board Meeting 
March 31, 2023              Virtual Meeting

Emergency Medicine at Cook County Health remains one of the most competitive physician residency programs nationwide drawing from the brightest graduating medical students.  Minority and underrepresented groups account for 16% of the internal medicine residency slots beginning with the 2023 class.
Strengthening the multicultural diversity of primary care physicians (internal medicine, Family Practice) training at Stroger, Provident Hospitals and affiliated clinics is a priority of CCH’s DEI plan (diversity, equity & inclusion) Dr. Claudia Fegan, Chief Medical Officer, expounded. 

• Employment Plan Compliance officer, Kimberly Craft noted that while the CCH push to improve and streamline hiring was a priority goal, compliance with Federal & State labor law as well as collective bargaining agreements require enhanced written documentation supporting the hiring/termination/discipline policies.
• Provident scholarship program: up to $20,000 for graduate level medical/dental & Advanced Practice Nurse students and up to $10,000 for undergraduate and Allied Health Professionals.   It is hoped that these students will remain at CCH for their career. 
• Directors poised questions on the status of the initiatives to accelerate the hiring process which Valarie Amos, Chief HR Officer, noted was down to 119 days from posting the job to filling a position versus 160 days in FY 2022.  8 job Fairs in FY23 were successful in garnering 401 interviews with 152 acceptances of the 166 offers.   Many acceptances were made the same day as the offer! Decreasing “temporary agency” cost for high use temporary staffing categories is anticipated.

Items to Watch for in the Future:
Redetermination for CountyCare managed Medicaid plan members is likely to eventuate in decreased plan membership in the June 2023 Managed Care data, noted Aaron Galeener, Chief Administrative Officer for CountyCare.

Observer - Susan Kern