Issue link: https://kusm-wichita.uberflip.com/i/1545861
gastroenterology — had their first graduates last summer, while the third fellowship, in addiction medicine, enrolled its first fellow. Also, last summer, more positions were added to the residency programs in pediatrics and obstetrics and gynecology. KUSM-Wichita officials are looking at creating other fellowship programs, in areas including cardiology and critical care, according to Laura Tatpati, M.D., KUSM-Wichita dean. Expanding the medical school's capacity for residency training and fellowships "provides a great opportunity for us to continue our mission and get physicians where they are needed," McNamee said. Becoming part of that mission is what drew McNamee to KUSM-Wichita. "I got excited about that," she said. McNamee was previously the program director and vice chair of training and education at the University of Missouri School of Medicine in Columbia. The new Wichita Biomedical Campus, under construction in downtown Wichita, is expected to be a catalyst for expanding education and training, adding more faculty and increasing the research capacity. The campus will house both the KUSM-Wichita medical and pharmacy schools, as well as health professions programs offered by Wichita State University and WSU Tech. Construction of the 350,000-square-foot facility is expected to be done by winter 2026. Another catalyst is the available federal funding for GME, McNamee said. The Congressional Appropriations Act of 2021 added funding through Medicare to pay for more residency positions, which was the first increase since 1997. That funding has continued, McNamee pointed out. "There are actually a lot of opportunities now that weren't in existence five to 10 years ago in terms of growing programs, so that's another piece of it, too, taking advantage of federal opportunities that are out there now," McNamee said. The federal government, through Medicare and other agencies, is the largest funding source of GME. More agencies are earmarking funds to specifically train and recruit physicians in rural and underserved areas. Working with community partners to support expansion is important, too, McNamee said. She and others at KUSM-Wichita will continue to work with the medical community in Wichita and elsewhere in the state to assess needs. "It's not just about the money, it's about having the other resources," such as medical staff who will help train residents and fellows, she said. ADDICTION MEDICINE FELLOWSHIP In summer 2025, Luke Rosebraugh, M.D., a Kansas family medicine physician, became KUSM-Wichita's first fellow in its newly created one- year fellowship in addiction medicine, which is part of the school's efforts to improve access to substance use disorder care in Sedgwick County. SUD is at epidemic levels, and there aren't enough physicians with specialized training to treat SUD patients. In Sedgwick County, only four providers are board-certified in addiction medicine. "We need more people with this training," said Ashley Haynes, M.D., the Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program director who is also a full- time physician specializing in addiction medicine with the Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center. She is also director of Addiction/Toxicology of Kansas, which provides hospital-based consultations. Latest statistics from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which conducts an annual survey on drug use and health, indicate 48.5 million Americans ages 12 and older, or nearly 17%, have had issues with a substance use disorder in the past year. Kansas slightly exceeds that national figure at 18%. 15