Denver hospital closes residency program after nearly 50 years

Alyssa Rege -

Denver-based Rose Medical Center ended its family medicine residency program after almost 50 years after the hospital's parent company and the Aurora-based University of Colorado School of Medicine, which runs the program, disagreed over how it should be operated, according to the Denver Business Journal.

Here are four things to know:

1. The Rose Family Medicine Residency, one of the oldest residency programs in the country, has trained more than 300 residents since its inception nearly 50 years ago, the report states. On Feb. 1, the Colorado Health Foundation, which oversees residency programs in the state, opted to turn operations over to the hospital's parent company, Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, from the medical school.

2. During the process, HCA told medical school officials it intended to take over sponsorship of the residency, as well as employment of its faculty, staff and residents. However, UC medical school officials said after months of discussion the arrangement was not acceptable and that they planned to close the program.

"Since receiving HCA's demand to take control of the residency, we have been negotiating to ensure the quality of the program and to protect the interests of our trainees and faculty. Unfortunately, we were unable to come to an agreement with HCA that met those requirements," medical school officials said in an announcement earlier this year, obtained by the Denver Business Journal.

3. Officials said that of the 18 residents who were enrolled in the program, six graduated and 12 were moved to family medicine residency programs at other Denver-area hospitals.

4. The move somewhat counters the organizations' efforts to train future physicians in the Denver area, the report states. UC medical school's affiliated residency program trains roughly 77 percent of residents in Colorado. Meanwhile, HCA said it planned to offer more residency programs in the Denver area and nationwide. However, both institutions said they are developing new programs to complement and replace the one that was discontinued at Rose Medical Center.

To access the full report, click here.

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