By Matt Bittle

DOVER — Bayhealth welcomed its first residency class Friday, with 21 students selected to spend the next three years practicing medicine Downstate under supervision.

The 21 students include 13 going to internal medicine and eight assigned to family medicine. Officials are hopeful the new class, as well as ones to come in future years, will put a significant dent in the primary care physician shortage in Kent and Sussex counties.

There are currently more than 2,000 people for every primary care physician Downstate, according to Family Medicine Residency Program Director Brintha Vasagar.

“This is a historic day not only for Bayhealth but for our entire community, as we are taking an important, bold step to increase the access of care to our friends and neighbors,” Southern Region Strategy and Brand Program Manager Alice Rausch said.

Because of COVID-19, the event primarily took place online, though about two dozen doctors and other Bayhealth employees gathered for the official announcement at noon. Medical school graduates received their residency assignments at the same time, making “Match Day” significant for both sides (and a bit nerve-wracking for some applicants).

“When our (graduate medical education) programs begin in July, we will be adding two significant new physician offices in our area. These practices will create more access to primary care physicians in Milford and Dover,” Chief Medical Officer Gary Siegelman said.

The new Dover facility, located on South State Street, will add more than 30,000 family medicine visits, while the internal medicine practice on Milford’s North DuPont Boulevard will bring an additional 20,000 visits.

More than 4,400 people applied for the 21 spots, with residents selected based on their preferred destinations, Bayhealth’s needs and interviews with the applicants. The entire process, which Dr. Vasagar described as “the most rigorous job you’ve ever applied to,” took close to a year.

Bayhealth placed special emphasis on applicants who are from the region or have family members nearby in hopes of finding residents who will put down roots in Delaware and continue to practice here after completing training.

Between Kent and Sussex counties, the state could use more than 100 additional primary care doctors, owing to a combination of factors like retirements and the state’s lack of a medical school, Bayhealth officials noted.

“We really look at opportunities for how can we fill that gap,” Dr. Vasagar said.

The new residents include graduates of medical schools like Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (with which Bayhealth has a pre-existing relationship), as well as ones located around the country and even in Pakistan, Nigeria and Grenada.

Paulina Rudy is one of the new residents in the family medicine field. A graduate of PCOM, she spent much of the previous two years at Bayhealth, preparing for her eventual residency. When the time came to pick a preferred location, Downstate was a natural fit — it just felt like home, Ms. Rudy said.

“You can’t find that everywhere,” she said. “It’s a gem and you want to stick to a place like that.”

Bayhealth plans to add residents next year as well, including some in general surgery. At full capacity, its programs will have more than 100 residents, according to Dr. Vasagar.

While a future doctor’s residency is often thought of as an extremely stressful period with long work hours, that’s changing, according to Internal Medicine Residency Program Director Joseph Deutsch. Bayhealth is putting extra focus on the health of its residents to better enable them to treat patients, he said.

Bayhealth officials are over the moon about the incoming class, with high expectations for the future as the hospital system continues to grow and train new doctors.

“Bayhealth is focused on meeting the needs of our community today while we plan for tomorrow,” President and CEO Terry Murphy said.