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2014 | Doing Business in Connecticut 41 SPONSORED REPORT Sustainability means long-term health care At ECHN, our commitment is, and always has been, to improve the health of families and communities east of the river. That's why we're making changes every day to ensure that the care you've come to know and trust will always be here. And that's change for the better. We're Here to Stay care, our affiliate, Visiting Nurse & Health Services of Connecticut, can provide the care you need right at home. Access to Primary Care Teaching a new generation of physicians means no shortage of care To ensure that primary care remains east of the river, we are already preparing for the next generation of medicine. We know that your most important health resource is your primary care doctor. It's also important that you have access to the specialty care providers who help keep you healthy. ECHN is made up of more than 400 highly trained, board-certified physicians. The unfortunate reality is that there is a significant shortage of primary care doctors in America, and that shortage is only expected to grow. Mindful of these changes, ECHN established an educational partnership with the University of New England's College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNECOM) in 2011, to bring medical stu- dents to Manchester Memorial and Rock- ville General Hospitals for a year of clinical and academic training. UNECOM is ranked No. 5 out of 147 medical schools in the na- tion for primary care training. The program has been successfully run and taught by physicians on ECHN's Active Medical Staff. In July 2013, ECHN also launched a Family Residency Medical Education Program to train primary care physicians for future service to our communities. They practice at Manchester Memorial Hospital, in physicians' offices and at ECHN's new Family Medicine Health Care Center at 130 Hartford Road in Manchester, while they complete their residency program. It is our hope that by investing in education and training, we are investing in the physician network that will continue to serve our communities for years to come.