A new Geriatric Fellowship Program, based at North Florida Regional Medical Center in Gainesville, FL has received initial accreditation and is seeking immediate applicants.

This program is part of a UCF College of Medicine-Hospital Corporation of America consortium seeking to add 600 residency slots to Florida by 2020. The consortium has added 17 graduate medical education programs in the last three years that are currently training 255 physicians in Central and North Central Florida.

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medicine Education (ACGME) approved the Geriatric program for a total of two fellows who will train for one year. The program will be directed by Dr. Nannette Hoffman, graduate of Albany Medical College, Albany New York, who completed her residency at University of Florida College of Medicine.

The Geriatric Fellowship program is designed to provide a comprehensive educational experience in aging that includes patient care, research, community service and leadership. The Fellows will work collaboratively with both private physician practices as well as hospital clinical services and various long-term care settings.

"Educating tomorrow's physicians is a key priority for HCA's North Florida Division, and as the nation's leading hospital network, we are proud to dedicate our resources and expertise to the task," said Joel Jeffries, M.D., vice president of graduate medical education. "Together with UCF, we are committed to providing our residents with an exceptional training and mentorship experience at the North Florida Regional medical center."

The Geriatric fellowship is the third UCF-HCA fellowship, building upon the recently accredited Rheumatology and Endocrinology programs.

"Residency and Fellowship programs are part of the promise we made to this community," said Dr. Deborah German, UCF vice president for medical affairs and founding dean of the College of Medicine. "If we have more residencies and fellowships, we'll have more trained doctors in our community. We'll become a net importer of medical talent."

North Florida Regional Medical Center is a 432-bed, full-service medical and surgical acute care center and one of the nation's top performing hospitals on key quality measures as recognized by the Joint Commission. It is an accredited Chest Pain Center and a Blue Distinction™ Center for Knee and Hip Replacement, Spine Surgery and Bariatric Surgery.

Applications are now open for the 2018-2019 year. Qualified applicants will be selected for fellowship interviews.

To learn more about the program at North Florida Regional Medical Center, please visit www.northfloridagme.com and contact Tracy Foote, Program Coordinator at tracy.foote@hcahealthcare.com or 352-333-5984.