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South Florida Health Center Receives $2 Million Grant Under the Affordable Care Act

Community Health of South Florida

Community of Health of South Florida received a $2 million grant to train primary physicians. The center is the first in the state to receive funding from the Health Resource and Services Administration.  

Thirteen medical residents started a training program this month to meet the needs of many patients newly insured under the Affordable Care Act.

“In the next few years the waiting time for our patients to see their primary physicians becomes much longer,” says Dr. Tony Amofah, the chief medical officer at CHI, the health center.

He says the Affordable Care Act is bringing to light the lack of primary physicians. Dr. Amofah says in the past most of the training came from Medicaid and Medicare at hospitals.

Money from the grant will be used to train doctors in family medicine, psychiatry and obstetrics. During the three-to-four-year program, residents can provide primary care directly to the community.

“By training residents in these locations, where patients may look for services, it increases the chances of these resident [doctors] to stay in these communities when they graduate,” he says.

The $2 million will pay for the residents’ services, education and faculty. Residents will work in 10 health centers in the Keys, South Dade and Coconut Grove.

Training will also be held at Larkin Hospital and Jackson South Hospital in Miami.

Dr. Amofah hopes CHI will be able to add more residencies and specialties in the near future with more grants.

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