Laurel, Miss. — Feb. 3, 2025 — Last week, South Central Regional Medical Center received news of the organization’s approval from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to begin an Internal Medicine (IM) residency program.

The inaugural class of ten resident physicians will walk through the doors in July and will commit to completing their three years of Internal Medicine residency at South Central where they will evaluate and treat patients as an essential part of a team lead by specialized attending physicians.

“At this phase of their careers, these residents are doctors who have graduated from Mississippi medical schools, from around the country and from around the world, said Deepu Thoppil, MD, the GME program’s Designated Institutional Official.  “They will spend the next challenging three years of their career under the watchful eyes of our accomplished Internal Medicine physicians to become experts in their craft. They will be part of our communities, and they will come from SCRMC.”

Along with D. Thoppil, who is serving as DIO and Program Director, is a team of Associate Program Directors and Core Faculty: Sam Dabit, DO; Monika Thoppil, MD; Alison Redding, MD; Michael McCain, MD; Alla Yugay, MD; and Joel Shores, MD.

The program is the ninth active Internal Medicine residency program in the state.

“A team of many talented and visionary physicians and GME leaders have been diligently working toward this goal for more than a year now, and we are blessed to have been given the opportunity by the ACGME,” said Samantha Andrus, SCRMC Chief Administrative Officer and administrative lead for GME. “We believe that training residents at South Central will strengthen the quality and scope of care provided across the communities we serve, as well as respond to the state’s increasing demand for physicians. These reasons are why South Central’s next move is to pursue a Family Medicine Program.”

According to a study conducted by Trent Lott National Center for Excellence in Economic Development and Entrepreneurship at the University of Southern Mississippi, SCRMC’s GME programs will have positive effects not only to the health of the hospital and its patients but also on the local economy to the tune of $26.6 million over the next ten years. The addition of a GME program will also make the area more attractive to business investors who may contribute fiscally.

To learn more about the Graduate Medical Education program visit scrmc.com/graduate-medical-education.