The University of Minnesota Medical School is adding a site to its rural family medicine residency program — the only program of its kind in Minnesota.
The medical school is partnering with Lakewood Health System to launch a residency in Staples, a small 3,000-person city in west-central Minnesota located across Todd and Wadena counties. Residents will begin with one year of training at North Memorial Health in Minneapolis, followed by two years in Staples.
Keri Bergeson, director of rural programs for the University of Minnesota Department of Family Medicine, explained that the aim of the program is to address the shortage of doctors in rural areas, with hopes that the residents plant roots and continue their careers in greater Minnesota…