At a press conference on Friday, University of Montana officials introduced the Family Medicine Residency of Western Montana, which just received approval by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education. 

The program was approved by the Board of Regents in 2011. University of Montana President Royce Engstrom says the purpose of the program is to provide residency opportunities for medical school graduates.

Interim Vice President for Research and Creative Scholarship David Forbes said 'providing health care is a team sport', in that students from several different scientific and medical disciplines will be able to collaborate on a variety of subjects regarding public health.

Director of Family Residency Dr. Ned Vasquez said Montana is rapidly approaching a critical juncture in health care, one of which is our rapidly aging population, and that there is a significant shortage of family practice physicians. He said 11 counties in Montana have no physicians whatsoever, so the new residency program will help provide more access to health care.

Friday, October 19th Press Conference at the University of Montana

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