North Charleston, SC (June 30, 2021) –On July 1 Trident Medical Center will become a teaching hospital with the debut of two Graduate Medical Education (GME) programs –Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine. For the hospital’s CEO Christina Oh adding residency programs to Trident’s growing list of services is critical to meeting the future healthcare needs of Lowcountry families. “Training the next generation of physicians, especially in much-need specialties like emergency medicine and internal medicine, to care for our region’s families will have a positive and generational impact on the health of our communities. People tend to move to and stay in areas where there are highly trained physicians and healthcare is accessible. Our goal for our residents is to make their experience of living in the Lowcountry and working at Trident Medical Center so memorable they’ll want to stay here and practice medicine after they complete their residency.”

The hospital’s Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine residency programs are three-year programs and will welcome 10 residents each year. Trident’s GME Administrative Director Agness Gregg said more than 2,200 physicians applied to the two programs. “We have an outstanding group of residents joining us for our inaugural classes. They will set the bar high for the classes that will follow them. They are also representative of the Lowcountry, which is important knowing we have an increasingly diverse population in our rapidly growing region.”

Medical directors for the programs are Nicholas Connors, MD, Emergency Medicine, and Nancy Crossley, MD, Internal Medicine. Dr. Connors is Board-certified in Emergency Medicine and earned his medical degree from Weill Cornell College –Cornell University. He performed his residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital and a Fellowship at New York University School of Medicine. Dr.Crossley is Board-certified in internal medicine and pediatrics and earned her medical degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine. She completed her residency at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, MI.

“I’m excited for our Emergency Medicine residents,” said Dr. Connors. “They’ll have the opportunity to care for a wide range of patient’s needs and will be supervised by an experienced team of Board-certified emergency physicians in an environment that is supportive.” Last year, more than 130,000 patients received emergency care in a Trident Health ER, which includes Trident Medical Center, Summerville Medical Center, Brighton Park Emergency, Centre Pointe Emergency and Moncks Corner Medical Center.

In the U.S. internal medicine physicians are among those specialist in highest demand. Nancy Crossley, MD, who practices at Trident Internal Medicine and is the medical director of the hospital’s Internal Medicine GME program, said, “Considering the health risk factors of too many of our Lowcountry residents, like obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure, our Internal Medicine residents will have a unique opportunity to practice community-based medicine. When they graduate from our program and start their own practices they will have already developed a broad range of experience and will be prepared to provide excellent care to their patients.”

Agness Gregg, who grew up in the Lowcountry and whose experience includes working with GME programs at the University of Chicago and the Medical University of South Carolina, said, “As a daughter of the Lowcountry it’s exciting to be a part of starting the GME program at Trident Medical Center. I have a better appreciation now of the range of services the hospital provides, the quality of physicians who practice at Trident, and their positive impact on the health of families. It’s almost breathtaking when you realize last year more than 315,000 Lowcountry patients received care through Trident Health.” Starting next year Trident Health will launch additional GME programs.

Trident Health is a part of HCA Healthcare, the nation’s leader in Graduate Medical Education (GME).Currently, more than 4,500 HCA Healthcare Resident and Fellows are participating in more than 270 Residencies and Fellowships in nearly 60 hospitals across 15 states.



About Residents:

What is a Resident?

After a medical student graduates from medical school (undergraduate medical education) they must complete training in their chosen field to become board certified. The step after medical school is referred to as Graduate Medical Education (GME).

What is Graduate Medical Education (GME)?

The period of didactic and clinical education in a medical specialty or subspecialty which follows the completion of under graduate medical education and which prepare physicians for the independent practice of medicine in the specialty or subspecialty. Also, refereed to a Resident or Fellowship Education.

Are Residents Students?

Not exactly. When they graduate from medical school they are granted a full medical degree (MD or DO), but when they join a hospital as a resident they are still learners so each resident will be supervised by an attending physician when providing care and treatment for patients. As the resident advances through their training and meets the required milestone, they are given greater autonomy when providing patient care.

About Trident Health

For 46 years Trident Health has provided acute care services to families in South Carolina’s Lowcountry including Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester Counties. Trident Health includes two acute care hospitals –321-bed Trident Medical Center and 124-bed Summerville Medical Center; three freestanding ERs –Brighton Park Emergency, Centre Pointe Emergency and Moncks Corner Medical Center –and two urgent care centers –Care Now Urgent Care Goose Creek and Care Now Urgent Care North Charleston.

Trident Health is one of the region’s largest employers with more than 2,500 staff and a medical staff of more than 600 physicians. In 2020 Trident Medical Center was recognized by Healthgrades as among American’s 50 Best Hospitals for Vascular Surgery. Additionally, The Joint Commission has recognized Trident Medical Center as a national Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Center and Summerville Medical Center as an Advanced Primary Stroke Center. Trident Medical Center is also a Trauma Center. In 2020, Trident Health provided $45.6 million in charity care and paid more than $35.4 million in local, state and federal taxes.

To learn more about how Trident Health is expanding services to meet the growing healthcare needs of South Carolina Lowcountry families go to www.tridenthealthsystem.com.