ACGME Database Opens for Displaced Family Medicine Residents at Bluefield Regional Medical Center

On May 29, 2020, Bluefield Regional Medical Center (BRMC) in Bluefield, West Virginia announced it would close its inpatient and ancillary services by July 30, 2020. BRMC is a participating site for an ACGME-accredited family medicine residency program under the institutional sponsorship of Mountain State Osteopathic Postgraduate Training Institutions (MSOPTI). The ACGME accreditation of the program will be Voluntarily Withdrawn on July 1, 2020, and it is anticipated that 18 residents will be displaced upon the closure of the program.

The ACGME has invoked its Extraordinary Circumstances Policy (ACGME Policies and Procedures, Section 21.00). Under this policy, the designated institutional official (DIO) of the affected Sponsoring Institution confirms a timeline for decisions related to program closure, including those related to the transfer of residents so that they may continue their education in other ACGME-accredited residency programs.

The ACGME facilitates accreditation considerations that make it possible for residents to transfer to other programs. The ACGME is not directly involved in resident placement or decisions related to funding. Residents at BRMC should contact the program director at BRMC with any questions about the transfer process.

If your family medicine residency program is able to accommodate the transfer of displaced BRMC residents, please identify your program’s available positions in the ACGME’s Accreditation Data System (ADS).

• For programs to notify BRMC residents of the availability of approved but unfilled resident positions, please use the Open Positions for Displaced Residents/Fellows link on the Overview tab in ADS to list available positions, specifying the number, type (permanent or temporary), and year, and providing descriptive comments. The window will close at 5:00 p.m. Central on Friday, June 26, 2020.
• Programs at full complement should request temporary or permanent complement increases using the Complement Change Request Form found on the Program tab in ADS. The Review Committee for Family Medicine will process requests related to the BRMC closure in an expedited manner. Increases will be approved as warranted for programs in good standing with available resources. In the rationale for the complement increase request, programs should include a specific reference to the “Bluefield Regional Medical Center closure.” In order to notify BRMC residents of the availability of newly approved positions, programs that receive complement increases should then list the available positions on the List of Available Positions page on the Overview tab in ADS.

While the database is active, the ACGME will provide the MSOPTI DIO and BRMC program director with daily reports of available positions. The DIO and program director will regularly inform residents of transfer opportunities.

The ACGME is acutely aware of the uncertainty and stress that this situation has caused, and our thoughts are with the residents, faculty and staff members, patients and community at large during this difficult time

For questions about specific issues, please contact the following:

Accreditation Data System (ADS)
ADS@acgme.org
Data Systems Technical Support: 312.755.7474
For a complete listing of ADS representatives by specialty, visit the Data Systems Technical Support page. 

Media Inquiries
Susan White, Senior Director, External Communications
swhite@acgme.org

Review Committee for Family Medicine
Eileen Anthony, MJ, Executive Director
eanthony@acgme.org