Bayhealth Receives $98,000 Grant from Highmark for Its GME Programs

Wilmington, Del. (November 17, 2020) — Bayhealth is pleased to announce it has received a $98,000 grant from Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware’s BluePrints for the Community fund to support its graduate medical education (GME) residency programs.

“Highmark’s support of our recruitment efforts will not only benefit Bayhealth but the entire state of Delaware,” said Bayhealth Internal Medicine Residency Program Director Joseph Deutsch, MD. “As we embark on starting a new residency program, recruitment of talented medical students is critical. Residents are our physicians of tomorrow, and we want to increase the number of physicians in our community.”

Bayhealth Family Medicine Residency Program Director Brintha Vasagar, MD, MPH, FAAFP, is also excited about what the grant from Highmark means for Bayhealth’s GME residency programs and the community. “The Family Medicine Residency Program strives to grow physician leaders who can be the best possible advocates for their patients. We are proud to join with Highmark in our shared goals of caring for the underserved and improving access to care.”

BluePrints for the Community is the donor-advised fund of Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware at the Delaware Community Foundation. It has contributed over $16 million to the community since its inception in 2007. It was established to serve Delawareans, with emphasis on, but not limited to, the needs of the uninsured and underserved, and to reduce health care disparities in minority populations and address social determinants of health.

“We are excited to partner with Bayhealth as it builds out its residency program,” said Adam Knox, regional vice president, head of Commercial Business for Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware. “This is critical work for making Delaware an attractive place to practice, and in addressing the health care professional shortage we are seeing locally and nationally."

Visit BayhealthGME.org to learn more about Bayhealth’s GME residency programs.