Renown Health partners to launch first OB/GYN residency in Northern Nevada

Renown Health is expanding access to women’s reproductive health care by partnering with the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine (UNR Med) to launch the northern Nevada region’s first obstetrics and gynecology residency program. The program, newly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, will train future physicians locally and help address a critical shortage of OB/GYN providers across the state.

“This accreditation marks a transformative moment for our students and for Nevada,” said Alison Westfall, M.D., assistant professor and OB/GYN clerkship director. “For the first time, our UNR Med graduates who choose OB/GYN will be able to stay here — at home — to complete their residency, and we know that physicians often practice where they train.”

The residency program, based primarily at Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno, will welcome its first class of three residents in July 2027. With more than half of Nevada’s counties lacking routine labor and delivery services, the program is designed to strengthen access to care, particularly in rural and underserved communities, while advancing maternal health equity across the region.

“Nevada has one of the lowest ratios of OB/GYN physicians to population in the United States,” said James Alexander, M.D., chair of obstetrics and gynecology at UNR Med and Renown Health. “This residency will provide critical training for physicians who desire to practice obstetrics and gynecology, many of whom will remain in Nevada after their training is complete. This will have a great impact on meeting the need for high-quality health care in our state.”

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