The U.S. still faces a shortage of pediatricians, resulting in delayed care and longer wait times for sick kids. This has the obvious effect of risking harm for the patient, but also exacerbates the stress of already concerned parents and families. Twelve years ago, Congress created the Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education (CHGME) program to provide funding to children’s teaching hospitals and ensure a robust pediatric workforce.
As the Children’s Hospital Association continues its work to finalize the reauthorization of CHGME, new statistics have been released which illustrate why this program is just as important now as it was 12 years ago. New data shows that CHGME is the only federal program proven to build a strong pediatric workforce, reduce wait times for patients, and help more kids that require specialized care. The hospitals that receive CHGME make up just one percent of hospitals across the country, yet in 2009 these hospitals were able to train 5,631 resident physicians. Since then, hospitals that receive CHGME funding have actually increased the number of residents they train, even though Congress reduced funding for the program. According to statistics from the AMA:
- There were 6,370 pediatric residents training in CHGME hospitals in 2010-2011; 56.9% of these residents are training in general pediatrics
- There are almost 13,000 residents training in pediatrics in the country; of the 8,111 general pediatric residents in the country, 45% of them are training at a CHGME institution, and of the 4,883 pediatric subspecialist residents in the country, 51% of them are training at a CHGME institution
- The CHGME program has accounted for more than 74% of the growth in the number of new pediatric subspecialists being trained nationwide
- Since CHGME began, the program has enabled children’s hospitals to increase their training by more than 40%
Simply put, there is no other program of this kind in the country. Yet, the Senate continues to drag its feet on reauthorizing the program beyond 2012.It’s important that we continue to educate Congress about the huge benefits of this relatively small and affordable program. Please write to your Senators and tell them to pass S. 958, which would reauthorize CHGME for five more years.
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