NYITCOM reaches agreement with Arkansas Continued Care Hospital

by Talk Business & Politics staff ([email protected]) 961 views 

The New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University and Arkansas Continued Care Hospital of Jonesboro have reached an affiliation agreement that will allow NYITCOM’s student doctors to train at ACCH-J facilities during their third and fourth years of medical school.

“We are extremely appreciative of Arkansas Continued Care Hospital of Jonesboro for partnering with us to train future physicians,” said Amanda Deel, D.O., associate dean of academic affairs at NYITCOM at A-State. “ACCH-J will provide outstanding educational opportunities for our student doctors to learn in a unique medical environment, and we are thrilled ACCH-J has joined us in our efforts to improve access to health care in this region through medical education.”

Arkansas Continued Care Hospital is a 44-bed, long-term acute care hospital (LTACH) that treats patients requiring prolonged acute treatment due to medically complex conditions. Patients typically come to ACCH-J following an ICU stay at a short-term acute care hospital when recovery is expected to require several weeks, but ACCH-J may direct admit under certain circumstances. ACCH-J patients will often discharge to inpatient rehab facilities, skilled nursing facilities, or to their home with a variety of supportive services. ACCH-J treats patients with a wide variety of conditions such as respiratory failure, infectious diseases, and advanced wounds.

“We are very excited for the opportunity to partner with NYITCOM for the benefit of the community and the future of healthcare in this region,” said James Cox, CEO of Arkansas Continued Care Hospital of Jonesboro. “LTACHs offer a unique learning environment for physicians in training due to a combination of high patient acuity, long lengths of stay, and multiple comorbidities and complications. We are proud to support NYITCOM’s effort to recruit, train, and retain local physician talent.”

During the first two years of medical school, student doctors attend lectures and labs on campus. For years three and four, students work alongside a licensed physician in a hospital or clinic to receive hands-on training. During their third year, medical students spend four to eight weeks training in areas of family medicine, pediatrics, general surgery, psychiatry, emergency medicine, obstetrics and gynecology and internal medicine.

NYITCOM at A-State has partnerships with over 150 hospitals, clinics and doctors throughout Arkansas as well as Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, with ACCH-J the latest to join that group.