Eisenhower Medical Center has received its accreditation to become a full-fledged teaching hospital and expects to begin training doctors in 2013 to help fill the Coachella Valley's longstanding primary care shortages. "One hundred and two primary care physicians are needed to to close the gap," said Dr. Roy Young, director of the new internal medicine residency program—one of two the Rancho Mirage hospital will offer. "That becomes the mission of our residency program—to train people to stay here," Young said. Teaching hospitals also raise the level of care in a region, since both faculty and students must keep up with the latest medical research and technology, said Dr. Glen Grayman, president of the board of the Health Assessment Resource Center. The group surveys healthcare needs in the valley. More doctors also will keep health care dollars in the valley, he said. "Each of their practices is an economic engine not only supporting their own staff but supporting the hospitals, supporting labs, supporting imaging centers and that money stays here," Grayman said. It'll cost $50 million to start the residency programs.
