ASU Osteopathy School On Track

Work has continued to allow the plans of the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine to open an additional site on the campus of Arkansas State University.

Officials from NYIT made their initial presentation to the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation in Chicago Sept. 6 in support of the application to establish an additional site in Jonesboro.

NYIT will appear before the commission again on Dec. 6 and provide follow-up information.

“We look forward to continuing our preparation for the next visit with the COCA commissioners in December,” Barbara Ross-Lee, D.O., vice president of health sciences and medical affairs for NYIT, said

Ross-Lee said most of the preparation work during the next three months would focus on graduate medical education (GME), which continues to be a top priority.

An Oct. 16 meeting in Jonesboro will bring together state and national healthcare leaders, hospital executives and practicing physicians, officials said.

NYIT will also work with hospitals in the mid-South to apply for residency training programs, identify clerkship coordinators and make clinical adjunct faculty appointments.

“We look forward to hosting the GME Summit on campus and facilitating discussions on the critical need for expanded medical training opportunities,” ASU Chancellor Dr. Tim Hudson said. “This is an important national issue with significant local implications for our health care community and the proposed medical school.”

Penry said university officials are optimistic of the program’s success, citing several hospitals in the South as being successful.

The program will also help address a critical healthcare need, Penry said.

“There is a huge primary care shortage in part due to the Affordable Care Act. There was a study out that said we are 48th or 49th in the United States in physicians per capita,” Penry said. “As Chancellor Hudson has said in the past, where there is a need, there is an opportunity. And there is definitely an opportunity here.”

ASU System President Dr. Chuck Welch testified on behalf of NYIT, along with Dr. Jason Penry, vice chancellor for university advancement at A-State; and Shane Speights, D.O., past president of the Arkansas Osteopathic Medical Association and chief medical officer at St. Bernards Regional Medical Center in Jonesboro.

Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro.; Chris Masingill, federal co-chairman of the Delta Regional Authority; Veryl Hodges, D.O., a member of the Arkansas Medical Board; Peter Kinney, chief of staff for NYIT; Peter Ajluni, D.O., a member of the NYIT Advisory Board and former American Osteopathic Association president; and Jeff Hankins, vice president for strategic communications and economic development for the ASU System also attended the meeting.

The group also saw a video message from Gov. Mike Beebe, touting the program.

“I was very proud of our team and our NYIT partners,” Welch said. “I’m particularly grateful to Congressman Crawford, Chairman Masingill and members of our steering committee for taking the time to join us in Chicago and offer their support, and to the governor for his endorsement. They share our enthusiasm for the transformative impact this medical school will have on the medically underserved Delta region and Arkansas State.”

The Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board on July 25 granted NYIT certification for an additional osteopathic medical school site on the campus of Arkansas State. Certification for three degrees — the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, the Master of Science in Medical/Health Care Simulation and the Master of Science in Neuromusculoskeletal Sciences — is contingent on NYIT obtaining regional and national accreditation.

The medical school has a projected startup cost of $10 million, with a targeted opening date of August 2016.

ASU said it will invest $4 million to renovate and furnish Wilson Hall, and NYIT will invest $6 million for startup operating funds and faculty in the first three years of the D.O. school.