Delaware

University of Delaware junior wins NPR’s College Podcast Challenge

Published

2 years ago

March 15, 2024

University of Delaware junior wins NPR’s College Podcast Challenge

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

Mere minutes before the NPR Student Podcast Challenge deadline, Trinity Hunt, a former WHYY intern, eagerily double clicked the submit button. The University of Delaware junior had no idea that her submission, “Dear Little Sister,” would earn her the winning spot, competing against over 500 entries from across the country.

“Dear Little Sister” is a compilation of letters and phone calls between Trinity and her little sister Jewel, who left home for basic training after joining the U.S. Army. With limited editing and audio experience, Hunt embarked on her podcast journey without any fancy tools or equipment — just an iPhone and a vision.

She began recording her conversations with her sister but didn’t decide to fully commit to creating the podcast until hours before the deadline. She wanted to share a glimpse of their relationship as they dealt with living apart. The two have grown close over the years and the separation was difficult for Hunt.

“She’s my best friend,” Hunt said. “When she talked about entering into the military, I was like, ‘No that’s not happening, you’re not doing that.’ But I knew this was something that she wanted to do.”

The Hunt sisters hug and listen to music together. (Courtesy of Trinity Hunt)

At first, Hunt struggled with supporting her sister’s decision.

“It was so new to me because no one else in my family had been in the military,” Hunt said. “I was experiencing this first hand especially as an older sister. It was like this protective sense that you feel.”

The eight-minute podcast balances authenticity and vulnerability while protecting her sister’s personal life. There were a few things Hunt chose to leave out while sharing their story, like her sister’s mental and physical health during training.

“I didn’t want to put her business out there,” Hunt said. “I wanted to be as vulnerable as I could. I feel like that was more interesting to people. If I just talked about it without sharing that vulnerable aspect of the letters and the phone calls it wouldn’t have been as interesting.”

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Delaware

Thomas Jefferson University to run Delaware’s first medical school

Published

4 hours ago

June 3, 2026

Press Room

Thomas Jefferson University to run Delaware’s first medical school

Thomas Jefferson University is opening a regional campus of its Sidney Kimmel Medical College in Delaware, an effort that will result in the state’s first medical school.

Jefferson beat out three other bidders to establish the four-year program in partnership with the state. The other bidders were the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, the consulting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Ponce Health Sciences University in Puerto Rico, Spotlight Delaware reported.

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The inaugural class of 40 medical students will begin instruction in July 2028. Initially, the campus will be based at the University of Delaware in Newark, with Jefferson faculty providing instruction. A permanent home for the campus is still being finalized, the Inquirer reported.

The medical students will receive 18 months of preclinical training on campus before receiving clinical training from healthcare providers in Delaware’s southern counties, where the state’s physician shortage is most deeply felt. That shortage is compounded by an aging population, Delaware officials said.

“Jefferson is committed to being part of the solution to Delaware’s physician shortage,” Jefferson CEO Dr. Joseph Cacchione said in a statement. “We are proud to help build a future where every Delawarean has access to the care they deserve. Jefferson is all in.”

The school’s creation is being supported by $157.4 million from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Delaware is one of three states without a Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine program. Since the late 1960s, Jefferson and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine have reserved seats for Delaware students.

“Sidney Kimmel Medical College has trained generations of physicians for more than 200 years, more than any other medical college in the country,” Said Ibrahim, dean of Sidney Kimmel Medical College, said in a statement. “It is a privilege to bring our mission to Delaware’s patients and communities.”

Jefferson has announced several expansions recently. The university is establishing a full-time doctor of nursing practice-nurse anesthesia program and several online graduate programs at the Lehigh Valley Health Network Center for Healthcare Education in Lehigh County. It also is opening a satellite respiratory therapy lab at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Allentown.

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Delaware

Delaware is getting its first medical school, with classes set to start in 2028

Published

14 hours ago

June 2, 2026

Press Room

Delaware is getting its first medical school, with classes set to start in 2028

Delaware officials said medical students will start their classroom instruction at UD and then do their clinical training at offices and health care systems in Kent and Sussex counties, where the shortage of doctors is most acute.

However, ChristianaCare, which has its own partnership with Jefferson, is not participating. The state’s largest health care system was part of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine’s unsuccessful bid to operate the school. In a joint statement from ChristianaCare and PCOM, the two organizations expressed disappointment with not being part of the consortium of higher education institutions and healthcare organizations.

“The path forward raises genuine questions about whether the school’s goals can be fully realized without ChristianaCare’s meaningful participation in its clinical training mission,” it said. “The success of any four-year medical program depends not just on an academic institution, but on a true and committed partnership with its clinical partners — one built on shared mission, mutual investment and trust developed over time.”

Students in the first class can get their tuition subsidized, covering all of their education costs, in exchange for an agreement to work in rural Delaware for five years.

Running the medical school is expected to cost Jefferson $78 million over the next five years. The money is from a federal rural health grant through the Rural Health Transformation Program, which congressional Republicans created in the so-called “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.”

The program will give $50 billion to every state over five years, though exactly the total each will eventually receive is unclear. Half of the money is to be distributed equally to states and the other half is awarded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services based on a variety of factors.

The state applied for $1 billion late last year to improve health care in Kent and Sussex counties. The Trump administration has so far allocated Delaware $157 million. Delaware is expected to receive at least $500 million over the life of the fund.

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