Chattanooga, Tenn., Hospitals Continue to Discuss Residency Program Merger.

Byline: Dave Flessner

May 16--Chattanooga may soon lose one of its two training programs for primary care doctors.

Memorial Hospital, which launched a family practice residency for new doctors five years ago, is preparing to combine its program with the bigger medical residency program at Erlanger hospital. But after nearly a year of talks, Chattanooga's two biggest hospitals have yet to agree on terms of the affiliation.

The rival hospitals remain deadlocked over who should absorb the losses from medical education and indigent care programs.

"The faculty are getting real nervous because they are already planning a joint program to start on July 1," Erlanger President Dennis Pettigrew said Tuesday. "But they still don't know about what residents, funding and hospital rotations will be involved."

Erlanger and Memorial officials insist they want …