Resolution to keep Family Medicine Residency Program in Pontiac
Members of the Oakland County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to support a bi-partisan resolution to keep the Family Medicine Residency Program in the City of Pontiac at the July 29th Board meeting. The resolution that was introduced by Oakland County Commissioner David E.S. Bowman and Oakland County Board Chairperson Michael J. Gingell expressed the urgency of keeping this program in Pontiac and Oakland County.
Members of the Board voted 18-0 in favor of this effort after suspending the board’s rules to make the vote. The Family Medicine Residency Program and Family Medicine Center at Doctors’ Hospital of Michigan (DHM) in Pontiac is the only Family Medicine Residency Program within Oakland County. For 25 years, the Family Medicine Residency Program and Family Medicine Center has provided needed and affordable health care to residents of which 80% of the patients receive Medicaid or Medicare benefits.
The Oakland County Board of Commissioners urges Dr. Nik Hemady, director of the Family Medicine Center and Family Medicine Residency Program at DHM, to make recommendations to the accrediting body that the residency program remains intact and continues its partnership with Oakland Integrated Healthcare Network (OIHN) in the Pontiac community and in Oakland County. No matter what the outcome of the recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition filing by DHM in the United States Bankruptcy Court in Detroit, the program should remain in Pontiac which is the sentiment of the Board.
The special partnership between the Oakland Integrated Healthcare Network (OIHN) and the Federally Qualified Health Center model of care has been an extremely important relationship for the Family Medicine Residency Program and the Pontiac community.
Undesired outcomes if the residency program is ended, as a result of DHM not being able to exit the bankruptcy would include:
• The current Family Medicine Residency Program’s 18 residency slots would be up for bid to other hospitals and could be relocated outside the area, which would limit access to doctors for Medicaid and Medicare patients.
• Quality and affordable care would be limited or non-existent that could result in a lack of care for those most in need.
• Healthcare cost could rise as those in need may seek services at nearby emergency rooms.
• The overall health and wellness of patients in the Pontiac community could be at risk as Pontiac is considered the only medically underserved area in Oakland County.
“At the cusp of the recent Doctors Hospital Bankruptcy filing is a need to provide quality, affordable health care to a medically underserved population. Relocating the family medicine residents at Doctors Hospital to any community other than Pontiac would place undue hardship upon the citizens of a recovering municipality. I believe this form of predictable distress can and should be avoided at all costs,” stated Bowman.
Sharing this sentiment, Gingell said, “This facility is important to Oakland County and Pontiac. It is crucial that we work to keep it located in this area and serving the people who need it most.”
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