/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/pmn/HEIGNJEGEZC2FNOYOS3TRPFEGM.jpg)
On Wednesday, the Delaware County health system, Crozer Health, announced that it had lost its final attempt to save its general surgery residency program. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) had withdrawn the program’s accreditation in January under special circumstances without specifying the exact reasons. Despite having originally 15 slots, only three residents remained after the appeal process.
Tony Esposito, CEO of Crozer, expressed strong disagreement with the ACGME’s decision and reassured that they have been working with the remaining residents to secure alternative training sites for them. The ACGME cited two possible reasons for the action at Crozer: a catastrophic loss of resources or egregious noncompliance with accreditation requirements. An anonymous complaint regarding insufficient surgical volumes for residents’ training needs triggered the ACGME’s investigation.
However, despite this setback, Crozer still maintains residency programs in emergency medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry, and a transitional year program. As a for-profit organization owned by Prospect Medical Holdings Inc., Crozer is actively recruiting clinicians to ensure that patient care remains safe and of high quality without any interruptions due to the ACGME’s decision.