SARASOTA — With an alarming shortfall of medical professionals forecast for Southwest Florida by the middle of the next decade, new partnerships between academia and local training opportunities for young doctors could help trim those numbers.

The latest ties were announced Tuesday, when the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee announced a plan to offer qualified graduates guaranteed early acceptance to the Lake Erie College (Pa.) of Osteopathic Medicine campus in Lakewood Ranch. Those students can pursue degrees in dentistry or osteopathic medicine.

Earlier this month, on July 1, Sarasota Memorial Hospital began its internal medicine residency program by welcoming its first 13 students from the Florida State University College of Medicine. That initiative is focusing on Sarasota’s underserved Newtown neighborhood, and it plans to accommodate 39 internal medicine specialists by the end of three years.

But the clock is ticking. A 2016 Graduate Medical Education in Florida report published by the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida and the Teaching Hospital Council of Florida predicted a deficit of 263 general and family doctors by 2025 in Sarasota and Charlotte counties, plus another shortfall of 268 doctors in an area that includes Manatee.

“While students have always been able to come here and then go to medical school after graduating,” Dr. Paul Kirchman, dean of the USFSM’s 1-year-old College of Science & Mathematics, said in a statement, “I think it is great that we have a partnership with a local medical and dental school. We are providing more opportunity for local students and we will attract even more students from outside the area.”

USFSM’s early admission track to LECOM has two stages. High school seniors who’ve been accepted at the former, plus first- and second-year USFSM students, can enroll in relevant programs as undergraduates, and LECOM will admit up to five students a year. Applicants who satisfy academic requirements at USFSM and are accepted into the LECOM’s medical school can skip the Medical College Admission Test, although dental students will still need to take the Dental Admission Test.

“Keeping young professionals in the area is, of course, part of what I see as our mission,” Kirchman said. “The area does need doctors and nurses, and that need will only increase in the future with the growing and aging population.”

During the grand opening of the Sarasota Memorial Internal Medicine Practice in Newtown on July 5, SMH Health Care System CEO David Verinder reminded his audience to expect a second Emergency Care to open on July 1, 2019. “The Internal Medicine residency program is the first of several GME programs we hope to establish in the coming years,” he said.

“… Our goal is not simply to train more doctors. We are selecting and training mission-driven physicians we hope will put down roots in our community and establish a practice in critically needed specialties when their residency ends.”

SMH received more than 4,000 applications from potential residents and interviewed 140 candidates, said hospital spokeswoman Kim Savage.

“It’s a very competitive field,” she said. “We’re looking for people with Florida ties in addition to top-notch academics.”

The agreement is expected to help grow interest at USFSM, which has steadily risen since the campus transitioned to a four-year institution and admitted freshman students in 2014, the university said in a news release. Last year, in response to labor trends and regional job forecasts calling for more science-based careers, the campus established a College of Science & Mathematics and hired Kirchman to lead it, the release noted.

USFSM has similar programs with USF’s colleges of nursing and engineering. Additionally, the campus recently signed an admissions agreement with Stetson University College of Law.

LECOM also touted the agreement, noting the school "is seeking medical and dental students who will excel in academics, clinical care, research and community service,” said John Wojtkielewicz, institutional director of undergraduate affiliations. “LECOM feels that by offering students reserved seats in its medical and dental schools as incoming USFSM freshmen, we can provide them with a great opportunity for an excellent educational experience both at USFSM and LECOM.

“Our graduates are committed to serving those in their communities who are in need of professional health care. This agreement with USFSM will attract the students we seek and will not only benefit our schools, but also the citizens of the Sarasota-Manatee community,” he said.