Becker's ASC Review

97 HEALTHCARE NEWS 97 U of New Mexico neurosurgery residency program is back in business By Alan Condon T he University of New Mexico-Albuquerque's neurosurgery department regained accreditation for its residency program April 1. In June, an MD/PhD student is joining the department to begin a seven-year neurosurgery residency, and more residents will follow until the program stabilizes with seven residents at various stages of training, the university said in an April 5 news release. "It's a huge win for everybody in the state," said Meic Schmidt, MD, who became chief of neurosurgery at the university in February 2020, and was tasked with restoring the residency program. e Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has given the university the green light for a new residency program, not a continuation of the earlier version, which lost accreditation in June 2020. e accreditation council withdrew the department's accreditation aer concerns about residents' learning and working environment, faculty and leadership turnover, an imbalance between service and surgical education and low operative case volumes in certain areas. "e program before was more focused on training community neurosurgeons. We don't do that anymore," Dr. Schmidt said. "It's really a training program for academic neurosurgeons who are focused on providing excellent neurosurgical care and doing research." Dr. Schmidt began rebuilding the program by recruiting several colleagues he previously worked with to the neurosurgery faculty. Before joining the University of New Mexico, he served as neurosurgery chair at New York Medical College in Valhalla and as neurosurgery vice chair at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. "We basically tore down the entire department to the ground," he said. "ere were a lot of people leaving, and then we rehired." In the last two years, the department has grown from five neurosurgeons to 10, with an 11th joining in July, according to the university's news release. Dr. Schmidt also created a division of pediatric neurosurgery within the department, led by Heather Spader, MD, and agreed to a partnership with Lovelace Medical Center in Albuquerque, where each resident will spend one year focusing on spine surgery. University of New Mexico Hospital is also upgrading the equipment used in its operating rooms for neurosurgery. e challenge now is to ensure the program meets its goal and is fully stabilized, Dr. Schmidt said. e next accreditation council review is scheduled for 2024. n Income tax cuts boom across US By Laura Dyrda H alf of U.S. states either enacted income tax cuts last year or are planning cuts this year, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. Sixteen states implemented income tax cuts last year, and at least 13 states are considering similar cuts this year. Corporate tax rates were cut in six states, according to Forbes. ASCs typically welcome income tax cuts or adjustments to lower the amount paid on generated income per year. Here are a few examples: Oklahoma is considering switching income tax to a flat tax. Iowa enacted income tax cuts last year, and Gov. Kim Reynolds wants to sign another income tax cut this year. Idaho legislators are also planning a second income tax cut in as many years. Legislation introduced in Michigan would lower corporate and personal income tax rates to 3.9 percent. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster asked legislators to send income tax cut legislation to his desk after the state reported nearly $1 billion in surplus recurring revenue. The Mississippi Senate voted to cut state income taxes, and Gov. Tate Reeves wants to eliminate state income tax. The move to cut income tax comes after revenue for all 50 states jumped 14.5 percent in the 2021 fiscal year, according to the National Association of State Budget Officers, and tax revenue is projected to keep increasing this year. Both Democrat and Republican lawmakers facing re- election and rising inflation see tax relief as a smart move and are working with state legislatures to enact change. n

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