FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October, 2011

LCH receives Initial Accreditation from ACGME for Psychiatry Residency Program

New Psychiatry Residency program will help produce more board certified psychiatrists to work in medically underserved communities experiencing a shortage of healthcare providers

SOUTH MIAMI, Fla. — Larkin Community Hospital (LCH) announced it recently received initial accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) for a new Psychiatry residency program.

The ACGME’s residency review committee for psychiatry approved this new 4 year program with an effective date of July 1, 2012. LCH will be able to train 8 residents per year, for a total of 32 available slots. Lasting between three to seven years, residency programs are required training for medical school graduates to become board-certified physicians. One of the residency program’s goals is to encourage new medical school graduates to become practicing psychiatrists in underserved areas by establishing training sites at Federally Qualified Centers. Research has shown that physicians who train at these sites are more likely to establish their practice in these underserved areas.

LCH currently offers American Osteopathic Association (AOA) approved residency programs in Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Psychiatry and Neuromusculoskeletal medicine.

“This is a historic achievement; no new ACGME Accredited Psychiatry Residency Program has been accredited in South Florida since 1969, almost half a century ago”. We are very excited about this opportunity to train the next generation of Board Certified Psychiatrists” announced Dr. Jose David Suarez, Chief Academic Officer at Larkin Community Hospital.

About Larkin Community Hospital:

Located in South Miami, Florida, Larkin Community Hospital (LCH) is a 146 Bed Acute Care Medical, Surgical and Psychiatric Teaching Hospital fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. The mission of LCH is to provide compassionate care of the highest quality in an educational environment. For more information about LCH visit www.larkinhospital.com. For more information about LCH’s Graduate Medical Education programs visit www.graduatemedicaleducation.org

Media contact: Johnny Nuno LCH Office of Public Affairs 305-284-7554 work 786-468-0458 cell jnuno@larkinhospital.com