Assemblyman Tom Alfano and the governor announced $1.43 million of funding for local hospitals to further strengthen physician residency training programs in four hospitals servicing patients in the 21st Assembly District. The funding, according to Alfano, will help support the teaching hospitals and advance medical education, training programs and biomedical research efforts.

Alfano announced the following Physician Training Funding Grants: Mercy Medical Center, $60,000; Nassau University Medical Center, $729,844; South Nassau Community Hospital, $27,870 and Winthrop University Hospital, $619,865.

"These grants will go a long way in helping improve training programs and educating our next generation of doctors serving our community," said Alfano who noted, "this commitment to health care for working families and seniors is critical to our local health care system."

The funding announcement builds on prior investments in reforming physician training in New York's academic medical institutions. As a result of the Graduate Medical Education (GME) Reform Incentive Pool, New York has helped increase the number of residents training in ambulatory settings by 9 percent; diversity faculty positions by 22 percent; and hospitals offering academic support to minority students by 26 percent. The funding also helps support cultural diversification training for residents. "Helping to relate to people of all backgrounds and having the training necessary to help communicate effectively will provide better health care treatment. That's why this funding is so important to our community," said Alfano.

Antonia Novello, New York State Health Commissioner noted, "The patient care provided by young doctors in training is the most critical aspect of their educational experience. New York's comprehensive GME initiatives help provide the skills and background they need to flourish in medicine."

"The funding from these outlays will provide for positions in the teaching hospitals and a consortia of medical institutions. The programs will include research in cancer, heart disease and childhood obesity. All of these areas directly impact our community and I'm really pleased that investment in these programs will put us on the road to finding cures and educating medical professionals in treating these medical issues," said Alfano.