Local healthcare corporations decline to train residents who serve underserved patients.

Community Health Care's Family Medicine Residency is being forced to close on June 30, 2026, after Virginia Mason Franciscan Health abruptly ended a 13-year partnership. CHC is a federally qualified health center that serves predominantly underserved communities. CHC’s family medicine residency trains future primary care doctors to deliver compassionate care to this population.

Why does this matter to you?

CHC’s Family Medicine Residency is made up of 24 resident doctors who provide primary care, obstetrical care, and inpatient medical care for more than 7,000 patients in Pierce County. The residency has graduated 55 board-certified family physicians, most of which serve the local area.

CHC is an independent organization, and its residency requires a connection to a hospital to fulfill training requirements. Since its inception in 2014, CHC has had an agreement with VMFH to provide hospital-based training. In December 2025, VMFH gave notice that they were ending this relationship without any reason beyond their own internal priorities, effective June 30, 2026. After trying to find another potential hospital partner, MultiCare also declined training CHC’s residents.

Pierce County already has a shortage of healthcare professionals, meaning there aren’t enough doctors to provide primary care for people living here. The loss of this training pipeline will greatly impact our region – especially low-income and underserved communities.