COOPERSTOWN, N.Y., April 1 /PRNewswire/ -- A healthcare system known both for its excellence in the provision of rural health care and training of healthcare professionals has established the Mithoefer Center for Rural Surgery. Bassett Healthcare established the Center to improve general surgery training, act as an information clearinghouse for rural surgeons, advocate for rural surgeons at the state and federal level, and ultimately, improve the health of people in rural communities throughout the United States and abroad.
The Center will address the shortage of general surgeons practicing in rural communities. Nationwide, there are just 10 percent of general surgeons practicing in a rural environment yet 24 percent of the U.S. population live in rural areas. In contrast to urban areas where physicians and surgeons of multiple specialties are readily available, rural communities typically rely on a general surgeon to perform many different types of surgery.
“Rural Americans face a unique combination of factors that create disparities in health care not found in urban areas,” says David Sniff, FACHE, president of the National Rural Health Association of Kansas City, MO. “This new effort focused on rural health delivery of surgical services will better prepare those in and considering a rural practice.”
At The Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, a rural general surgical curriculum track has been proposed and will be added to Bassett’s surgical training program. “Our hope is that this pilot education program will be replicated at other academic medical institutions,” says Michael Gold, M.D., chief of surgery and Center for Rural Surgery director at Bassett. “Surgery programs are critical to the success of any hospital. In rural areas however, the loss of a general surgeon often threatens the success of a surgery program and therefore, the very existence of the hospital.” Bassett will also offer a three- to six-month fellowship in rural surgery training for a planned rural or international practice.
A Web site, centerforruralsurgery.org, will become a major resource for rural surgeons. One of the Center’s first efforts is a national survey of rural surgeons to determine the issues that most concern them, from lifestyle and professional issues to education and recruitment needs. Communication with political leaders of state and federal government agencies will ensure that matters of importance to rural surgeons, rural hospitals, and their patients are recognized and ultimately, their situations improved.
Bassett Healthcare
CONTACT: Leslie Raabe, Bassett Healthcare, +1-607-547-3037,leslie.raabe@bassett.org
