Cambridge Health Alliance: News

Tufts University Family Medicine Residency at Cambridge Health Alliance 1 of 14 Sites in Nation Chosen for Breakthrough Initiative

Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, Revere, Somerville, Winthrop, MA…Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) has announced that the Tufts University Family Medicine Residency at CHA will participate in an initiative to change the way family physicians are trained to practice medicine.

When CHA opens its doors at 195 Canal Street in Malden on June 18, 2007 patients will see many familiar faces. Twenty-five Malden providers will join the CHA Malden Family Medicine Center and will become part of this exciting initiative, including several longtime Malden physicians who have served the community for more than a decade.

CHA and Tufts University strive to provide family medicine residents with a strong community-based training experience. The residents’ main clinical home is the new CHA Malden Family Medicine Center, the anchor of a 76,000 square-foot ambulatory care building in Malden, MA. The contemporary facility will include state-of-the-art electronic health records, x-ray, computers in every exam room, group visit space, and resident office space.

Dubbed P4, the Preparing the Personal Physician for Practice initiative has the potential to revolutionize family medicine training. Findings from the project are expected to guide future revisions in accreditation and content to ensure America’s future family doctors are proficient in using the most up-to-date tools and technologies to meet the growing demands of health care consumers.

“In the increasingly fragmented world of health care, residencies participating in P4 will help teach future doctors how to build a personal medical home for patients that will offer seamless, coordinated care,” says Joseph Gravel, MD, Residency Program Director. “By implementing more progressive curricula that focus on futuristic ways of caring for patients, budding family physicians will learn how to better evaluate patient care and satisfaction.”

The residency is one of 14 nationwide selected for this progressive primary care initiative, sponsored by the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors (AFMRD) and American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM), in collaboration with TransforMED, the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) practice redesign enterprise.

Cambridge Health Alliance is a regional healthcare system with three hospitals and more than twenty primary care practices in Cambridge, Somerville, and Boston's metro-North communities. Cambridge Health Alliance offers medical residency/training programs and undergraduate learning experiences in hospital and community settings. Cambridge Health Alliance also includes the Cambridge Public Health Department, CHA Physician's Organization (CHAPO), and Network Health, a managed Medicaid and Commonwealth Care plan.