The Valley Health Team Family Medicine Residency Program (VHTFMRP) received its official accreditation Tuesday from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

Valley Health Team (VHT) is a federally supported health care provider with locations throughout Fresno County and its new family medicine residency program intends to train the next generation of high quality family medicine physicians, which are so sorely needed in the Central Valley, where there is an increasing shortage of primary care physicians. The hope is those who complete the residency program will serve in underserved and vulnerable communities in the San Joaquin Valley throughout their careers.

The residency program, which emphasizes interdisciplinary medicine and patient-centered, culturally competent care, will be based out of Valley Health Team’s newest location, the Central Fresno Community Health Center, which opens in July.

The current Teaching Health Centers program, funded through the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) will be transferred to Valley Health Team at the end of the fiscal year in June. Valley Health Team officials say it is uncertain whether or not the program will continue to be funded by the HRSA.

Valley Health Team’s teaching health center will be mostly community funded. CalViva Health recently announced it will provide $2.2 million to the residency program to help launch the new Teaching Health Center.

“Teaching Health Centers are instrumental in increasing access to health care services for residents limited by geography, economic or existing medical issues,” Valley Health Team CEO Soyla Reyna-Griffin said in a statement. “[This program] will truly have a major impact on our community.”