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Oakland University, Beaumont Hospitals Announce Plans for New Medical School

Posted on: Thursday, 5 April 2007, 15:00 CDT

ROCHESTER, Mich., April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Officials from Oakland University and Beaumont Hospitals announced today that they have entered into a partnership that will create a new medical school on Oakland's campus. The medical school will be privately funded.

"We are excited about partnering with one of the finest hospitals in the country to bring southeastern Michigan a much-needed boost in job creation, applied research capacity and opportunities for medical education for generations of prospective students," said Oakland University President Gary D. Russi. "We will be filling an educational niche, and for the first time ever, Oakland County will have a medical school. This is a tremendous development for the state, the region and the medical profession at large.

"Moreover, the economic impact on southeast Michigan will be significant. According to the American Association of Medical Colleges, the economic impact of medical schools and teaching hospitals equals $451 billion nationwide. In Michigan alone, that impact is $18 billion, and 122,000 Michigan citizens are employed by medical schools and teaching hospitals. Our partnership with Beaumont will add to those numbers."

"Beaumont is the largest, private-staff model teaching hospital and academic medical center in the country," said Kenneth J. Matzick, President and CEO, Beaumont Hospitals. "Becoming the primary teaching hospital and equal partner of a medical school is the logical next step for Beaumont to rise to the next level of excellence, reputation and strength in its mission of patient care, education and research. Because of its already well-developed basic science curriculum in life and health sciences and medical research, OU is an ideal medical school partner."

Beaumont and Oakland jointly filed a letter of intent with the Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME) to begin the process of establishing an allopathic medical school. The LCME is the nationally recognized accrediting authority for medical education programs leading to an M.D. degree.

Officials said the first two years of the four-year curriculum will consist of basic medical science in classrooms and labs on Oakland's campus. Students are placed in hospitals for clinical rotations in years three and four. Beaumont's two hospitals in Royal Oak and Troy would be the primary locations for these placements, and other area hospitals are expected to receive student placements as well. The medical school will be funded by foundations, individual and corporate donations. Plans to erect a new building to house the medical school on Oakland's campus have already been discussed. Russi said the charter class should be admitted in 2010.

"Studies show that there is a looming shortage of physicians, nationally and especially in Michigan," said Ananias Diokno, M.D., Beaumont's Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer. "This new medical school will help fill the gap and will also enhance medical care throughout the region by attracting top-level medical leaders and medical students from around the country to our area."

"With Beaumont as a partner, we are uniquely positioned to make a high quality medical education available to students in this region," said Oakland's Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost Virinder Moudgil. "Oakland University is nationally noted for applied and biomedical research, and our new relationship with the world-renowned researchers at Beaumont will enhance these endeavors on our campus, and bring new and exciting opportunities to our students and faculty."

Oakland University, located in Oakland County, Michigan, is recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as one of the nation's 82 doctoral/research universities. The university offers 115 bachelor's degree programs and 90 graduate degree and certificate programs. Dedicated to delivering a distinctive undergraduate experience complemented by the strength of its graduate offerings and research accomplishments, Oakland University is organized into the College of Arts and Sciences and the Schools of Business Administration, Education and Human Services, Engineering and Computer Science, Health Sciences, Nursing, and The Honors College. Visit Oakland University on the Web at http://www.oakland.edu/.

Beaumont Hospitals has two hospitals in Royal Oak and Troy, with more than 2,400 private-practice physicians in more than 91 medical and surgical specialties and with 35 accredited residencies and fellowships and a research institute. Beaumont also includes seven community-based medical centers, four nursing care centers, home care and hospice. Beaumont's 1,061-bed Royal Oak hospital is a major teaching, research and referral center with Level I trauma designation that ranks first in the United States for inpatient admissions and second for total surgeries. Beaumont's 296-bed Troy hospital is an acute-care facility with its own residency program that ranks among the nation's leading community hospitals for admissions and surgeries. Visit Beaumont's Web site at http://www.beaumonthospitals.com/.

Beaumont Hospitals

CONTACT: Ted Montgomery of Oakland University, +1-248-370-4346; orColette Stimmell of Beaumont Hospitals, +1-248-551-0740

Web site: http://www.beaumonthospitals.com/http://www.oakland.edu/

Source: PRNewswire

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