Bill Hicks

The obstetrics and gynecology residency program at the UT College of Medicine in Chattanooga is facing a probationary period following a review from the national body responsible for accrediting residency programs, the school's dean said Thursday.

Dr. David Seaberg told Erlanger board members Thursday that he got word this week that the Residency Review Committee of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education determined the program had not remedied problems identified earlier this year.

The program had been cited because OB-GYN residents are performing too few procedures in certain areas, putting them in danger of failing to meet the training required by the council, Dr. Seaberg said after the meeting.

Dr. Seaberg told the trustees at their monthly meeting Thursday night that the college of medicine is "diligently" working on a plan to address the issues, which must be fixed within two years or the school could lose the OB-GYN program.

The program relies in part on doctors in private practice contacting the residency program about procedures that residents can attend as part of their education, he said.

"We're just going to have reestablish ties with community physicians to get that accomplished," he said.

Also at the board meeting, trustees gave final approval to the criteria that will determine the level of bonus pay Erlanger management employees will receive next year, based on fiscal year 2010 results.

Bill Hicks, executive director of the Southside and Dodson Avenue Community Health Centers, said in a report to the board that business is booming at the pediatric after-hours clinic at the T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital.

The centers are planning a similar adult after-hours clinic for adults who show up at Erlanger's emergency room but do not have a true emergency. That site may open within the next month at the wound care center near Erlanger's adult emergency department, officials said.

ERLANGER EMPLOYEE HONORED

Rita Bowen, director of health information management at Erlanger, has been elected president of the American Health Information Management Association, officials announced Thursday. "I feel very proud that we have someone of that caliber working at Erlanger," sad Chief Financial Officer Britt Tabor said to trustees at the board meeting.