ChristianaCare has been awarded a $2.4 million grant to expand Delaware’s health care workforce and ultimately improve access to care throughout the First State.
ChristianaCare is baed in north Wilmington and is Delaware’s largest hospital-healthcare system.
Awarded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and administered through the Delaware Academy of Medicine / Delaware Public Health Association (Academy/DPHA), the grant will help ChristianaCare’s Institute for Learning, Leadership and Development (iLEAD) expand and enhance medical education in Delaware and grow and strengthen the state’s multidisciplinary health care workforce, a release stated.
As an academic health system with more than 300 residents and fellows, and as the Delaware Branch Campus for Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, ChristianaCare already has an education infrastructure that supports Delaware’s health care workforce.
This new funding will help to expand those efforts, including in Kent and Sussex counties, and in underserved areas in the city of Wilmington, where a need exists for more primary care and behavioral health providers, medical assistants and other health care roles.
“To provide care that is truly of the highest quality, we need doctors in Delaware who have the confidence and specialized training to see patients with a wide variety of issues,” said Tabassum Salam, M.D., MBA, FACP, chief learning officer at ChristianaCare. “In addition to doctors, we need more advanced practice clinicians, such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants. Just as important, we want to foster the development of all members of health care teams, including medical assistants and aides.”
Initially, the grant will fund new training slots for psychiatrists, psychologists and advanced practice clinicians who specialize in primary care. The money also will expand training for medical assistants .
“The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted shortages and vulnerabilities,” said Tim Gibbs, executive director of the Academy/DPHA. “Fortunately, we now have the opportunity to leverage these funds to address opportunities and build sustainable programs to eliminate those problems. ChristianaCare is uniquely positioned and qualified to undertake this work as we consider the rapid expansion of existing programs, the existing teaching workforce to support growth, and, after every dollar of our grant is invested, the financial capacity to sustain programming long into the future. In addition, the willingness of ChristianaCare to collaborate with partner institutions in Kent and Sussex counties on behalf of the wellbeing of every Delawarean is a value we hold high.”
The funding comes from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, also known as the COVID-19 Stimulus Package.
