The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education last month awarded initial accreditation to Holy Name for its new graduate medical education program.

In 2022, the health system received a $3.3 million federal appropriation to help launch the effort. The funds covered the initial costs of establishing the residency program.

“ACGME is the gold standard of excellence for any physician training program. Holy Name is excited to embark on this journey with our first class of graduate medical students who are receiving hands-on experience in leading-edge healthcare practices,” said Dr. Vasantha Kondamudi, Holy Name’s chief medical officer.

According to Holy Name, the program will train about 90 physicians each year. Right now, students from the Rowan-Virtual School of Osteopathic Medicine are participating in rotations in several areas as part of a recent partnership. The Teaneck hospital is also affiliated with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Clinical specialties include internal medicine, psychiatry, general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, orthopedics and nephrology.

“Receiving initial accreditation from the ACGME is an important first step in launching a high-quality graduate medical program to strengthen our future health care workforce,” said Holy Name President and CEO Michael Maron. “With New Jersey facing a worsening physician shortage, it is critical we train more doctors in the Garden State, who will then live and practice medicine here in the future.”

The health system noted when the funding was approved that, according to the New Jersey Hospital Association, a third of practicing physicians in the state are over 60 years-old — the third highest in the nation. And the state ranks 46th in the nation in the percentage of doctors under 40.

Accreditation is voluntary, but programs must be ACGME-accredited to receive graduate medical education funds from the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Residents must graduate from ACGME-accredited programs to be eligible to take their board certification examinations. Holy Name said accreditation ensures residents become proficient in six core competencies: patient care and procedural skills, medical knowledge, practice-based learning and improvement, systems-based practice, professionalism, and interpersonal skills and communication.

Holy Name Medical Center was one of only five New Jersey hospitals to receive a higher rating in the most-recent The Leapfrog Group Hospital Safety Grades. The facility posted a B grade in the November report, up from C previously.

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 9:37 a.m. ET Dec. 12, 2023, to note the health system received a $3.3 million federal appropriation in 2022.