Mercy announces graduate medical education program

Mercy Springfield Communities is boosting its role to train aspiring healthcare professionals in the Ozarks with the launch of a graduate medical education program. 

The new program is set to debut in summer 2027, according to Mercy officials, with plans to establish at least 160 residency and fellowship positions by 2032. That will start with an internal medicine residency, which officials expect will have 75 slots available within five years.  

“It’s a long time in the making,” Mercy Springfield Communities President John Myers said regarding the first residency program for the local healthcare provider. “We started these conversations with our physician leadership teams a couple years ago. We’re very fortunate to have a team of highly skilled physician leaders and those that are passionate about education who felt strongly about growing a residency program here in Springfield at Mercy.” 

Mercy officials told Springfield Business Journal in April of its intention to start a residency program but declined to share details until now. The decision comes on the heels of recently revealed plans by the University of Missouri School of Medicine to expand its Springfield campus to a four-year medical school. MU’s plans call for the full medical school curriculum to be offered to local students starting in summer 2027, according to past SBJ reporting.  

“We couldn’t be more excited,” Myers said of Mercy’s graduate medical education program plans. “I think there’s obviously a nationwide physician shortage and southwest Missouri is not immune to that. I think this is one way we could play a big part in helping to address that physical shortage.” 

December 2025 data from the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis projects the U.S. will have a shortage of over 141,000 physicians by 2038.  

GME programs provide medical school graduates with the residency training required for them to receive their license to practice medicine in the U.S., according to a news release. Mercy officials said their program is funded by Medicare, as are most GME programs. The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 capped the number of Medicare-funded residency positions within active GME programs. The action created a shortage of residency slots and has been a contributing factor to the impending physician shortage, according to the release. 

Myers declined to disclose startup costs for the program but said Mercy is building didactic space within the Springfield hospital for residents. 

“There’s significant upfront costs that’s required to launch a residency program,” he said. “We should complete all those renovations here within the next couple of months.” 

Staying close 
Dr. Sadaf Sohrab, chief medical officer for Mercy Springfield Communities, said in the release that the new program will benefit every healthcare system in southwest Missouri. 

“Research shows doctors are more likely to practice in the communities where they complete their residency, so our GME program could mean hundreds of doctors get their training in Springfield, fall in love with our community and decide to build their careers in southwest Missouri,” she said.  

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, roughly 56% of individuals who completed residency training between 2015 and 2024 are practicing in the state where they trained.  

“At the end of the day, what we know is Missouri is a net exporter of medical doctors seeking a residency,” Myers said, noting the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reports the state loses about a third of its medical school graduates to other states. “It’s been known for a long time.” 

As for the potential fiscal impact a new GME program could have on Springfield, Mercy enlisted the help of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce. According to the economic impact study, which Myers said was produced at no cost to Mercy, estimates are that the program will sustain 635 jobs and generate more than $111 million in economic output in Greene County over the program’s first seven years. The output is calculated through the household spending of the residents that choose to stay in the county. 

Myers said the study’s findings were not surprising to him and confirmed his thoughts on the fiscal impact. 

“We know there’s a higher likelihood that post residency, that physician will choose to stay where they did their residency to start their practice,” he said. “This will really allow more medical students to complete their medical doctorates to finish their residency in Missouri, specifically southwest Missouri, which we’re very excited about.” 

Program leadership 
Mercy’s Dr. Mark Van Ess will be among leaders of the company’s new GME program. He and Dr. Sandhya Samavedam will be program directors, according to officials.  

Van Ess, who works for Mercy’s Ear, Nose & Throat Clinic, said his specialty is in otology and neurotology, which focuses on the ear and skull base. He said internal medicine was the residency Mercy wanted to focus on first as it is key when considering general healthcare.  

“In this area of the country, southwest Missouri faces challenges with growing physician shortages. A lot of times that starts on the primary care side of things,” Van Ess said. “Internal medicine is really a key primary care specialty. From internal medicine oftentimes the residents will do additional training such as gastroenterology or cardiology, and those fields are really in need as well.” 

While Van Ess declined to identify other residency programs in which Mercy may expand, he said those additions will come in the next five years.  

“Medicare funds graduate medical education positions in the United States and when we start new programs, we have a particular timeline to establish those,” he said. “By the end of five years if we have not established exact numbers or gotten approval for those things, then Medicare won’t fund those positions.” 

While Mercy is getting ready to start its first residency program in Springfield, CoxHealth began its first GRE program in 1987. Aside from its family medicine residency program, CoxHealth offers programs for graduate nursing, clinical pastoral education and pharmacy. The healthcare system announced earlier this year it was adding a new family medicine residency program in Branson that will begin this summer, according to past SBJ reporting.  

At Mercy, the number of physicians that will be instructors in the program is still to be determined, Van Ess said. He said eight ENT physicians will be involved. 

“I think from my department standpoint, I’ve got 100% buy-in,” he said.