Saint Vincent to become an affiliate of BIDMC surgical residency program 

Worcester, MA -- Saint Vincent Hospital today announced that it has entered into an agreement to become an affiliated hospital for the surgical training program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School.

“We are thrilled to be affiliated with a surgical residency program that is respected worldwide for its commitment to the training and developing of the next generation of physicians,” said John E. Smithhisler, Chief Executive Officer of Saint Vincent Hospital.  “Saint Vincent has been training residents for more than 100 years and we look forward to this new teaching partnership linking residents from one of Boston’s finest teaching hospitals with our outstanding clinicians who every day strive to treat patients with the highest quality health care delivered in an atmosphere of healing and compassion.” 

Beginning in July, a full rotation of BIDMC’s surgical residents will start monthly rotations at Saint Vincent Hospital where they will work side by side with Saint Vincent’s 75 other residents in cardiology, internal medicine, podiatry and radiology.  The rotation at Saint Vincent will provide Beth Israel Deaconess surgical residents with solid exposure to the range of patients and medical problems common to the practice of surgery in a major community hospital, an experience that is sometimes difficult to obtain in a tertiary Boston teaching hospital

“In today’s health care environment it is critical to prepare surgical residents to care for patients in a variety of settings including busy community hospitals, where many residents will choose to practice in the future,” said Josef Fischer, M.D., William V. McDermott Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, Chief of the Department of the Roberta and Stephen R. Weiner Surgery at BIDMC and Chairman of the Board of Regents of the American College of Surgeons.

 “Our goal is to offer surgical residents a valuable educational experience with significant faculty supervision in a safe environment.  As we looked to expand our surgical residency program, we determined that Saint Vincent was a perfect partner for us.  The hospital has a long tradition as a teaching hospital, has made considerable investments in state-of-the-art robotic equipment, new operating rooms and surgical equipment, and our residents will benefit greatly by working with clinicians and staff who are leaders in providing community health services and preventative care to the Greater Worcester community.”

The formal agreement between BIDMC and Saint Vincent to train residents at Saint Vincent Hospital further complements existing programs between the two institutions including staffing of the hospital’s emergency department and radiation therapy department by the Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Saint Vincent Hospital is a 348 bed acute care hospital located in Worcester, Massachusetts. Saint Vincent offers a variety of specialty care centers including laparoscopic surgery, cardiovascular medicine including open heart surgery, cancer medicine, family centered maternal and child health services, general and vascular surgery, modern intensive care centers, neurosurgery, psychiatric services, orthopedics, and advanced diagnostic services including an MRI. An extensive array of outpatient services including same day surgery, radiation oncology and a pain clinic are also available.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is a 585 bed acute care hospital located in the heart of Boston.  A teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is renowned for excellence in patient care, biomedical research, teaching and community service.  It ranks third in National Institutes of Health funding among independent hospitals nationwide. BIDMC is clinically affiliated with the Joslin Diabetes Center and is a research partner of Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center. BIDMC is the official hospital of the Boston Red Sox.