Holy Name Press Releases

Holy Name Receives ACGME Accreditation for New Graduate Medical Education Program

December 28, 2023

Holy Name today announced it attained initial accreditation for its new graduate medical education (GME) program from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

Last year, Holy Name received a $3.3 million federal appropriation to launch a new GME program in the U.S. Senate omnibus bill signed by President Joe Biden and sponsored by Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker, as well as Congressmen Bill Pascrell and Josh Gottheimer. The appropriation will fund the initial cost to launch the new residency program at Holy Name.

Holy Name’s new GME program will train approximately 90 physicians per year. Currently, students from the Rowan-Virtual School of Osteopathic Medicine are conducting rotations at the hospital in several areas as part of a recent partnership. Holy Name is also affiliated with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Clinical specialties include internal medicine, psychiatry, general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, orthopedics, nephrology.

According to Dr. Vasantha Kondamudi, Holy Name’s Chief Medical Officer, “ACGME is the gold standard of excellence for any physician training program. Holy Name is excited to embark on this journey with our first class of graduate medical students who are receiving hands-on experience in leading-edge healthcare practices.”

“Receiving initial accreditation from the ACGME is an important first step in launching a high-quality graduate medical program to strengthen our future healthcare workforce,” said Michael Maron, President and CEO of Holy Name. “With New Jersey facing a worsening physician shortage, it is critical we train more doctors in the Garden State, who will then live and practice medicine here in the future. We are extremely grateful for our congressional delegation for continuing to deliver for the healthcare needs of their constituents and making this program a reality.”

ACGME accreditation of a new residency program is based on published accreditation standards and is accomplished through a peer review process. Participation in ACGME accreditation also ensures residents become proficient in six core competencies during their program—patient care and procedural skills, medical knowledge, practice-based learning and improvement, systems-based practice, professionalism, and interpersonal skills and communication.

Accreditation with ACGME is voluntary. However, programs must be ACGME-accredited in order to receive graduate medical education funds from the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Residents must graduate from ACGME-accredited programs to be eligible to take their board certification examinations. In addition, many states require completion of an ACGME-accredited residency program for physician licensure.

New Jersey currently suffers from a shortage of physicians. The U.S. Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) predicts that by 2025, New Jersey will be one of 37 states with a primary care doctor shortage, and among a dozen where the shortfall will be at least 1,000 fewer physicians than needed.

According to data from the New Jersey Hospital Association (NJHA), a third of NJ's practicing physicians are over 60 years-old, the third highest in the nation. The state ranks 46th in the nation in the percentage of doctors under 40. Each year, New Jersey has approximately 3,100 physician residents in training at 43 hospitals. At the same time, NJHA estimates that New Jersey has approximately 32 medical students and resident physicians in training per 100,000 residents compared to 81 and 62 in neighboring New York and Pennsylvania, respectively.