DESOTO COUNTY—The office of Memphis Lung Physicians in DeSoto County somewhat resembles a U.N. medical facility. Physicians attracted there by the J-1 Visa waiver program hail from four countries: Hungary, Jamaica, India and Mexico.

 

The physicians, all pulmonary specialists with two who also specialize in sleep medicine, were attracted to practice medicine in DeSoto County through a Delta Doctors program administered by the Delta Regional Authority (DRA). About half of the foreign graduates of U.S. medical schools normally are required to go back to their native country for two years. But doctors who want to stay in the U.S. and are willing to serve in Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs) for three years can receive a J-1 Visa waiver.

 

Jenny Udouj, administrator of Memphis Lung Physicians, said the program has been helpful to both physicians and their patients.

 

“It doesn’t seem as many people are going into pulmonary medicine, so it has been a help,” Udouj said. “So far we have had good results. In addition to local people, we have patients who come from Oxford and on down in that area. We serve a large region.”

 

Udouj said the physicians from foreign countries are no different than other physicians; each has his or own personality. The physicians, who are well liked and appreciated by patients, have had no difficulties establishing their practices in DeSoto County—one of the fastest growing counties in the nation.

 

“There is a lot of paperwork because of them not being citizens,” Udouj said. “It is rather involved. But when you compare it to recruiting physicians from anywhere, cost-wise it is probably about the same. It is something worth looking into if you have an office in an underserved area.”

 

It is important to work with an immigration attorney to guide you through the process. Otherwise you would be lost, Udouj said.

 

States are limited to 30 J-1 physician waivers per year, but federal programs don’t have that limit.

 

“The DRA can put as many doctors as needed in an area,” said Greg Siskind, a Memphis immigration lawyer with Siskin Susser LLC (www.visalaw.com), who is author of the book J-1 Visa Guidebook. “They have that flexibility.”

 

Siskind said being close to the Memphis metropolitan area has some advantages attracting foreign doctors. A lot of times foreign doctors want to be near people from their home country or background\ethnicity. It is easier to find that in a metro area.

 

“That is one advantage as opposed to smaller communities,” Siskind said. “Some doctors want very much to be in a larger city.”

 

Amanda J. Taylor, director of the Delta Doctors program, said a goal of the program is for physicians to adapt and become fond of the community in which they serve so they will remain either with the same employer or decide to open their own clinic. All four physicians at the Memphis Lung Physicians have elected to stay in the area after their three-year commitment is up.

 

Of the eight states in the DRA program, Memphis and Mississippi have had the most success with the Delta Doctors program, which overall has placed more than a 100 physicians in the region. Physicians have also been placed elsewhere in Mississippi, including Clarksdale, Greenville, Grenada, Greenwood, Southaven, Rolling Fork and Jackson.

 

The Delta Doctors program isn’t just good for health, but also for the economy. Pete Johnson, federal co-chair of DRA, said the number one underlying issue affecting the overall economy of the Delta is the health of its people.

 

“It affects every aspect of the Delta’s ability to compete at the global scale because it cuts to the heart of our citizen’s productivity,” Johnson said. “Access to affordable health care and trained physicians is the most critical link we have in the healthcare delivery system in our region.”

 

Johnson said they work closely with the states involved to ensure no unnecessary duplication or fragmentation of the processes necessary to bring about placing physicians in underserved areas.

 

For more information, call Taylor at 662-624-8600, extension 26, or send an e-mail to ataylor@dra.gov.