If a new law is passed, it could increase the number of doctors in the Bronx and at the same time, federal lawmakers say, aid President Obama’s plan for universal health care.
On May 8, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer and Congressman Joseph Crowley were at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center to unveil the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2009. If passed, the Act would provide hospitals with millions in new federal funding to train medical residents. The new legislation would increase the number of residents by 15 percent.
Traditionally. the federal government pays for medical residencies, which is the final step in a doctor’s training. But in 1997, federal law capped the number of Medicare-supported residents for hospitals.
“You can’t put an artificial cap on the number of residents the city trains,” Schumer said. “There is a need for medical residents that is more acute than ever before.”
“[The new legislation] is so exciting,” said Cathy Skae, director of Montefiore’s pediatric residency program, which accepts 23 residents a year. “The clients have increased but we haven’t been able to expand the number of doctors.”
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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.