ABSTRACT

Twenty-five years ago, an acute shortage of primary care physicians facing the semi-rural community of Waco, Texas’ large indigent population inspired local physicians and community leaders to work together to create and administer the McLennan County Medical Education and Research Foundation (McMERF), a freestanding community-based family practice residency program. McMERF’s long-standing success as both a dependable provider of primary care services and training environment for family medicine physicians interested in practicing in underserved Texas communities is attributable to: 1) strong community support and participation, 2) able leadership and governance to address political forces and rely upon diverse funding sources, 3) effective academic partnerships, and 4) the presence of innovative state funding and regulation. Texas is a leader among states in providing critical support for family medicine education.

The following links describe the program and support from the State of Texas as well as the impact of the program on the county and region. Perhaps no family practice program has had such a global impact assessment.