Addiction Medicine Fellowship receives ACGME accreditation
Addiction Medicine Fellowship receives ACGME accreditation
A new Addiction Medicine Fellowship at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford received initial accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The one-year program will train primary care physicians to be competent addiction medicine specialists able to provide compassionate and equitable care for all communities.
The first fellow will begin in July 2026 and will receive training from faculty physicians practicing at UI Health Mile Square Health Center-L.P. Johnson Rockford, UW Health SwedishAmerican Hospital, Rosecrance Behavioral Health Griffin Williamson Campus and Rockford Pain Center.
Ray Garcia, MD, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and chief medical officer at Rosecrance Behavioral Health, is the program director.
“Winnebago County has one of the highest rates of opioid-related deaths in Illinois, and only about 13% of individuals with substance use disorder are able to receive treatment,” says Garcia. “This new program is working to address the shortage of addiction specialists in Northern Illinois.”
The fellowship is part of a program called Clinical Learning and Education in Addiction, which is funded by a grant from the Winnebago County Community Mental Health Board through a half-cent sales tax.
“The fellowship program allows us to develop deeper collaborations for the treatment of those with addictions,” says Joseph Garry, MD, head of and a professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. “The foresight and vision of the Winnebago County Community Mental Health Board to fund workforce development in this area has allowed us to recruit faculty and develop a training program for Rockford and northern Illinois. The impact this program will have on exposing our medical students and Family Medicine residents to competent and compassionate care will be exponential.”
Learn more about the Addiction Medicine Fellowship.