Match Day Brings More Than 250 Physicians to Delaware Health Systems

The 2026 Match Day season marks a record high for Delaware Healthcare Association (DHA) hospital members, with more than 250 new physicians set to join Delaware hospitals and health systems this July through Graduate Medical Education (GME) programs. The physicians will enter residency and fellowship training across the state’s six acute care hospital systems, which officials say are critical to strengthening the long-term healthcare workforce and improving access to care. Hospital leaders noted that GME programs help build the physician pipeline from early education through advanced clinical training, while also allowing residents to provide direct patient care and expand appointment availability. DHA officials also said most physicians remain in the communities where they train, making the programs an important workforce retention strategy. Match Day, held each year in March, is when medical students are paired with hospitals for residency training—the next step in becoming practicing physicians.

Additional Information from the DHA:

Below are the 2026 highlights by system:

Bayhealth – This year, Bayhealth matched with 33 new physicians across Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, General Surgery and Emergency Medicine, along with five fellows in Gastroenterology, Hematology and Medical Oncology and Sports Medicine. With each new class, Bayhealth is strengthening access to both primary and specialty care in central and southern Delaware and investing in the future of healthcare.

Beebe Healthcare – Beebe Healthcare marked a milestone matching with 14 physicians. The Family Medicine Residency matched with six physicians who recently finished medical school. New this year is a transitional year residency program for doctors to train before they go onto specialty areas which will welcome eight transitional year resident physicians. Additionally, there are two pharmacy residents (also a new program) and five students from PCOM as core clinical campus students.

ChristianaCare – ChristianaCare will welcome more than 100 new trainees as residents and fellows this July. ChristianaCare, the largest academic medical center between Baltimore and Philadelphia, has 38 Graduate Medical Education programs for physicians, pharmacists, podiatrists, dentists and oral and maxillofacial surgeons. ChristianaCare is the Delaware branch campus of Sidney Kimmel Medical College and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Nemours Children’s Health – Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware has been matching residents for more than two decades. This year, Nemours will welcome 24 new categorical pediatrics residents, two child neurology residents, two pediatric physical medicine and rehabilitation residents, and five internal medicine – pediatrics residents.

Saint Francis Hospital – Saint Francis Hospital, part of Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic, welcomed six Family Medicine residents on Match Day. The three-year residency program will begin on July 1, and upon completion, the graduates will become board-certified by the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM).

TidalHealth – TidalHealth plans to welcome a total of 76 residents and fellows for the 2026–2027 academic year, reflecting continued growth across its Graduate Medical Education programs. Programs are based out of TidalHealth in Salisbury, but residents rotate through TidalHealth Nanticoke in Seaford. This includes 49 residents across Anesthesiology (4), Family Medicine (4), General Surgery (6), Internal Medicine (15), Neurology (4), Obstetrics and Gynecology (4), Psychiatry (3), and Transitional Year (6), as well as 27 fellows in Cardiovascular Disease (4), Critical Care (1), Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism (2), Gastroenterology (2), Healthcare Administration, Leadership, and Management (1), Hematology and Medical Oncology (2), Hospice and Palliative Medicine (2), Infectious Disease (1), Nephrology (3), Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine (3), Rheumatology (2), and Sleep Medicine (2). Additional program growth is anticipated pending accreditation, including Orthopaedic Surgery Residency (3) and Geriatric Medicine Fellowship (2).