Hospitalists are fully-trained doctors who have completed medical school and residency training and graduate with degrees in Internal Medicine or Family Practice.  Most, but not all, are university-trained doctors who have recently completed and are very familiar with hospital-based care.  Others are doctors who have been in traditional-based medical practices who decide to change to hospital-based care exclusively.  Hospitalists do not perform surgery, and the presence of hospitalists has in fact contributed to reduced backlogs in the Emergency Department by getting admitted patients to the nursing units, freeing up space in the Emergency Department.  This has helped reduce the total treatment time in the ED by about 30 percent over the last year.

The program, which was initially recommended by physicians in 2004 and actually began in 2006, currently has 4 full-time and 8 part-time physicians who supply 24/7 coverage.  The goal is to have 7-8 full-time hospitalists and less part-time workers.  Dr. Fran DeChurch has been hired to start working at DRMC as the director of the program, and she begins Oct. 30.  She is a nationally-known and respected hospitalist leader with more than 15 years of hospitalist experience and 8 years of experience as a hospitalist program director.