Project Grant P1355800

The Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration Bureau of Health Professionals awarded Crisp Regional Hospital, Inc. $745,923 on August 1, 2026, to establish a new ACGME-accredited internal medicine residency program serving seven rural counties in south-central Georgia.

Crisp Regional Hospital, a nonprofit rural acute care hospital in Cordele, Georgia, will develop and launch the residency program to create a sustainable rural physician workforce pipeline. The program targets Crisp, Dooly, Lee, Sumter, Turner, Wilcox, and Worth counties, a region of more than 120,000 residents with persistent physician shortages, high primary care HPSA scores, substantial chronic disease burden, and limited access to specialty care. Three counties have no practicing internal medicine physicians, requiring patients to travel more than two hours for specialty and hospital-based services. The residency will enroll 6 residents per entering class, reaching 18 residents at full complement. Expected ACGME program accreditation is September–October 2028, with first resident matriculation in July 2029. The Medical College of Georgia at Augusta serves as an educational partner.

The award period runs from August 1, 2026, through July 31, 2029. Place of performance is Cordele, Georgia 31015. The funding mechanism is a Project Grant classified as assistance funding. The program sustainability plan establishes a Medicare FTE resident cap for the first time.