Local News

Actions

Mountain View Hospital hopes to address doctor shortage

52 students receive white coats
Posted at 7:26 PM, Jul 05, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-05 22:26:54-04

When it comes to the number of doctors in our community, Nevada sits near the bottom of that list.  Now, one valley hospital is working on a plan to have doctors available 24 hours a day. 

"We're 48th in the country when it comes to physician shortage per our population," says Dr. Darren Swenson with Mountain View Hospital.  

That doctor shortage means longer wait lists for patients, packed waiting areas and overwhelmed emergency rooms. Mountain View Hospital is hoping to change their quality of care. 

"We started up this large program because of the demand of physicians in our community," says Dr. Swenson. 

On Tuesday, 52 medical students received their white coats and started their residency program, which is new at Mountain View.  38 of the new physicians will work in internal medicine, the other 14 will work in general surgery.

While the residency program is a big step in the careers of these young doctors, it also means for patients, more doctors are on hand. Representatives say it's a big step forward in addressing the doctor shortage. 

"It allows patients to be seen by multiple physicians at multiple levels and I think ultimately that would improve quality of care," says Arian Gower, a first-year intern with the hospital.  

Mountain View hopes to expand their residency program even more, including an OBGYN program within the next two years.