The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration predicts that Ohio will have a primary care physician shortage of 13 percent by 2025. With 57 percent of College of Medicine graduates remaining in Ohio to practice, NEOMED is doing its part to improve the situation.

One such graduate, Paige Daily, M.D. (’21), was featured recently in an interview with Spectrum News 1. Dr. Daily, a pediatric resident at Akron Children’s Hospital, grew up in Tallmadge, Ohio, and volunteered at the hospital in high school.

“I grew up in northeast Ohio. I own a home in northeast Ohio. I never want to leave it,” said Dr. Daily.

Elisabeth Young, M.D., FACP, vice president for health affairs and dean of the College of Medicine, was also interviewed. She cited population growth – specifically the increasing population of older adults – and medical school debt as factors contributing to the physician shortage.

Rural areas will be particularly hard hit, said Dr. Young. “There will be decreased access to physician care, which means there likely will be increased non-physician care,” she noted. “There’s going to be increased remote care or virtual care. There might be increased travel to care which we know will increase cost, gas, food, lodging, and what you hope does not happen, but is most concerning, is delay of care.”

Read the story on Spectrum News 1.