January 5, Wisconsin Health News 

The number of Wisconsin residents in accredited rural-focused residency programs jumped 10 percent from the previous year, according to a December report from the Wisconsin Rural Physician Residency Assistance Program. 

There were a total of 87 residents in the programs as of the end of November. That's up from 79 the previous year. 

Between Dec. 1, 2015 and Nov. 30, 2016, WRPRAP awarded seven grants, totaling $528,866. 

Some programs supported by WRPRAP are looking to bring in their first residents this year. The Aurora Lakeland Rural Training Track Family Medicine Program, which hopes to have 12 residents by July 2020, is recruiting its first four residents. 

And the UW Obstetrics & Gynecology Residency Program, the nation's first rural track in the specialty, will match its first resident this year after about 100 applicants competed for the position.  

"We are confident that WRPRAP's funding will continue to champion long-term, viable solutions that address the shortage of physicians in rural Wisconsin communities," the report noted.  

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