NYITCOM making an impact across Arkansas

“This is going to take a while,” I thought to myself as we left the Arkadelphia city limits headed to Sparkman with the ambulance’s emergency lights on and the siren blaring. We were called to a man having chest pain and he was about 30 miles away. This is not an uncommon occurrence in Arkansas.

In the medical world, time is muscle when it comes to a heart attack, meaning that the quicker you receive care, the more likely you are to survive and the longer you will live following the cardiac event. Rural areas of Arkansas have struggled to meet the healthcare demands of these communities for quite a while now. 

However, this May, I was humbled to be joined by many of the architects, implementors, and supporters that started the New York Institute of Technology’s College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University.

We gathered in a room at Jonesboro’s Embassy Suites to not only celebrate the tenth anniversary of the opening of the first osteopathic medical school — and only the second medical school — in the state, but to take a moment to acknowledge the commitment, work, and dedication of so many that has seemingly triggered a change that is now evident across our state and region.

In the summer of 2013, I was asked by Arkansas State University to help their pursuit to bring an osteopathic medical school to the state. Three short years later, the first class of NYITCOM at A-State kicked off with its inaugural white coat ceremony. 

Since our first class graduated in 2020, we’ve added 730 new physicians to the workforce, with more than 60% of them going into front-line medical specialties like pediatrics, internal medicine, family medicine, and emergency medicine. These are the types of physicians we need the most in this part of the country.  

Staying true to our mission, more than half of our graduates are practicing in Arkansas or a targeted Delta State, and we have not wavered from our north star, which is to train servant leaders who not only practice excellent medicine but are connected to and participate in the communities where they practice.  

Another significant achievement has been the growth in graduate medical education (GME), or residency programs. As part of our startup, our founding dean, Dr. Barbara Ross-Lee, insisted we also work to expanded residency programs in the state. 

Through a generous grant from the Blue and You Foundation, and sparked largely by our work to help community hospitals understand the need and opportunity, there have been 28 new residency programs open in Arkansas that did not exist prior the formation of NYITCOM’s Arkansas campus. Those programs account for about 230 new positions annually.  

Historical data shows that when a physician completes medical school or residency in Arkansas, about 60% of the time they will stay here to practice. However, when they attend both medical school and residency in Arkansas, that number goes up to 80%. We are seeing those same numbers with our graduates, and many are filtering out into the needed areas of the state. 

None of this work would have been possible without tremendous partnerships, and our continued success is contingent on continuing to grow relationships and working together with hospitals, physicians, elected officials, civic leaders, and community partners.  

While we’ve made great strides in medical education in Arkansas, it’s imperative that our state’s elected officials and healthcare leaders continue to support the growth of medical education. We see nothing but opportunity ahead, specifically for community hospitals that need to grow their physician workforce, but it’s not something achievable by one entity.

The future of healthcare in Arkansas is dependent on transparent and intentional collaboration between multiple stakeholders that addresses the specific needs of each community in our state so help isn’t 30 miles away. 

Editor’s note: Dr. Shane Speights, D.O. is board certified in family medicine and serves as the site dean for New York Institute of Technology College of Medicine (NYITCOM) at Arkansas State University. The opinions expressed are those of the author.