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Collective Considers Area Medical School: Group Says a Program in Scranton Could Help Retain Local Pre-Med Students.

Posted on: Friday, 23 June 2006, 06:00 CDT

By Kris Wernowsky, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Times Leader

Jun. 23--SCRANTON -- A collective of local physicians, entrepreneurs and hospitals is studying the possibility of establishing a medical school in Scranton.

Dr. Robert Wright, the director of the Scranton Temple Residency Program at Mercy and Moses Taylor hospitals in Scranton, is a member of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Medical Education Development Corporation which formed last year to explore creating an independent medical school that could help retain local pre-med students graduating from area colleges.

Much of the information about the proposed medical school is still in the preliminary stages, but Wright, who is spearheading the project, said the school would help alleviate the shortage of physicians in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties, where a significant population of elderly and aging baby boomers reside.

"There's certainly a huge regional need. A lot of people are going outside the area for medical care," he said. "The doctors are swamped here."

Board members of Wright's residency program, which is also affiliated with the Temple University School of Medicine, initiated discussions about establishing the school before getting Scranton Community Medical Center, Wilkes-Barre General, Mercy and Moses Taylor hospitals to support the effort.

The development corporation received a $700,000 grant through State Sen. Robert Mellow, D-Peckville, to hire Tripp Umbach & Associates to conduct a feasibility study to see whether the region's economic, demographic and geographic makeup can support an independent medical school.

College Misericordia President Michael MacDowell said qualified graduates from any one of his college's slew of medical majors often have difficulty finding placement in medical programs in other cities. He said one of his hopes in supporting the establishment of a local medical school is that his and area higher-education institutions including Wilkes University, the University of Scranton and King's College, among others, will be able to place graduates locally.

"I think this is a real feather in the cap of this area that we would even try for a medical school, because they are hard to establish," MacDowell said. "The colleges and the universities have nothing but to gain from this cooperative activity."

Wyoming Valley Health Care Chief Executive Officer Dr. William Host said since the northeastern Pennsylvania region is the only corner of the state without a college of medicine, it's difficult to find doctors willing to set up practice in the area.

"This will have multiple positive effects on the region," Host said. "It's well-known that if you are involved in the final stage of a physician's training, the ability to keep them in the community goes up dramatically."

C. Richard Hartman M.D., president and CEO of Scranton Community Medical Center Health Care System, said Thursday that he would welcome the idea of a regional medical school to help make more doctors available to the region.

"We fully support the initiative, and the results could be excellent from the standpoint of making physicians available to the community," Hartman said.

Officials from Tripp Umbach did not return phone calls Thursday seeking comment.

The Pittsburgh-based research and marketing analysis firm performs studies on the community impact of hospitals and medical schools. Their recent work includes inquiries for the Florida International University in Miami and the University of Arizona in Phoenix, which are both establishing their own medical schools.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Times Leader

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)

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