COCA approves NYIT-COM Arkansas branch for Fall 2016 start

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http://www.theislandnow.com/news/ny...cle_92a0ae64-eab6-11e4-9439-c36be4f57709.html

The governing body that awards accreditation to osteopathic medical schools has approved New York Institute of Technology’s proposal to expand its osteopathic graduate program to Arkansas State University, the colleges announced Thursday.

Following its April 15 meeting, the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation approved an initial expansion to Arkansas State that would allow up to 115 new medical students each year.

“Having met all the criteria and receiving the accrediting body’s go-ahead, we will now focus on the steady march toward welcoming medical students in Jonesboro,” said NYIT President Edward Guiliano. “We will immediately turn attention to carefully hiring and developing faculty and staff in Jonesboro, and work with our fine colleagues at Arkansas State University in preparing the facility at the center of their campus to house the educational program.”

“It’s an extraordinary win-win-win situation,” he added, “for the residents of the region who will enjoy improved health services as well as business development, for the state of Arkansas, and for the two universities.”

NYIT’s proposal received regional accreditation last August from the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board. It was initially approved by the Arkansas State University board of trustees in March 2014.

New York Institute of Technology’s College of Osteopathic Medicine is located on its Old Westbury campus. It has an enrollment of approximately 1,200 students. Tuition is approximately $52,000 per year.

As part of the agreement, Dr. Barbara Ross-Lee, NYIT’s vice president for Health Sciences and Medical Affairs, will relocate to Arkansas State to serve as dean of the program.

“This is an extraordinary development for the future of not only our institutions, but more importantly for the citizens of Arkansas and the Delta,” said Arkansas State Chancellor Tim Hudson. “We’re grateful to NYIT for seeking to expand its proven, highly regarded osteopathic curriculum for the benefit of students in this region. Their experience in medical education and our experience in meeting the needs of Arkansas and the Delta will lead to positive, transformative results.”

Officials said NYIT plans to invest $6 million of the school’s $10 million in startup costs, with Arkansas State contributing the remaining $4 million to renovate and furnish its Jonesboro campus’s Wilson Hall. NYIT would also fund future startup costs for the school’s first three years.

There is currently one medical school in Arkansas, at the University of Arkansas. Officials said medical students in the region attend colleges in Kansas, Mississippi and Oklahoma.

Classes are expected to begin during the Fall 2016 semester.

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"Officials said NYIT plans to invest $6 million of the school’s $10 million in startup costs, with Arkansas State contributing the remaining $4 million to renovate and furnish its Jonesboro campus’s Wilson Hall. NYIT would also fund future startup costs for the school’s first three years."

I haven't been following this latest campus expansion very closely but it sounds like this is a public/private deal, huh? While I doubt this will result in a decrease of tuition price for students (because there is no incentive) it still may bring a level of stability and accountability missing from many others. I don't get why an institution called New York Institute of Technology is in Arkansas but I guess it makes about as much sense as LECOM in Florida :shrug:
 
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New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University....

Unbelievable and infuriating....Instead of investing time in your facilities, your research, your staff, your students, you want to invest in the business state of Arkansas State.

Why in the world does NYIT have it's eyeballs on Arkansas in the first place?
 
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Why in the world does NYIT have it's eyeballs on Arkansas in the first place?
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New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University....

Unbelievable and infuriating....Instead of investing time in your facilities, your research, your staff, your students, you want to invest in the business state of Arkansas State.

Why in the world does NYIT have it's eyeballs on Arkansas in the first place?

Can't you just imagine the board meeting where they came up with this? You're in the most economically important metropolitan area in the world, and you're trying to figure out where to take your institution next, when suddenly the quiet, brooding guy at the corner of the conference table clears his throat. Everyone stops, and looks at him in silence as he slowly looks up and says.... "Arkansas."
 
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Some of these branch campus names... who looks at them and thinks "this sounds like a reputable school"
Even if they are reputable... from a marketing standpoint it just doesn't sound very... legitimate.

The allopathic community has its share of expansion schools as well, but they market them in a way so as to make them seem like long-standing institutions.
 
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Some of these branch campus names... who looks at them and thinks "this sounds like a reputable school"
Even if they are reputable... from a marketing standpoint it just doesn't sound very... legitimate.

The allopathic community has its share of expansion schools as well, but they market them in a way so as to make them seem like long-standing institutions.

This is so true. I hadn't thought about it but it really is a good point.
 
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its probably another old building, take out the walls, make one big room, put in a bunch of fold-out tables, fold-out chairs, fold-out professors, and fold-out security guards.
 
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The expansion needs to stop. Our DO name brand doesn't need to be associated with this mass production nonsense. COCA appears to have interest in the money and nothing else
 
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sigh. guess that's where my future tuition is going towards....
 
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I'm actually fine with this one. The name is a bit goofy - but so is PCOM-GA. Arkansas needs some primary care for sure.
 
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This would make two new DO schools in Arkansas. There is also the planned Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Smith.

With the University of Arkansas medical school already in this state, I wish good luck to the future students of these DO schools when it comes to finding clinical rotations. I expect these students will be spread far and wide.
 
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This would make two new DO schools in Arkansas. There is also the planned Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Smith.

With the University of Arkansas medical school already in this state, I wish good luck to the future students of these DO schools when it comes to finding clinical rotations. I expect these students will be spread far and wide.

Two DO schools opening up in the same state at the same time is rather unprecedented, if I'm not mistaken. It might be interesting to see if they start a mad scramble to scoop up preceptors and hospital affiliations, starting on equal footing.
 
This would make two new DO schools in Arkansas. There is also the planned Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Smith.

With the University of Arkansas medical school already in this state, I wish good luck to the future students of these DO schools when it comes to finding clinical rotations. I expect these students will be spread far and wide.
I wonder how rotation sites will work out with NYIT-Arkansas, ArkansasCOM, and KCUMB-Joplin all being so close together.
 
I wonder how rotation sites will work out with NYIT-Arkansas, ArkansasCOM, and KCUMB-Joplin all being so close together.

It is going to suck most likely. Most of the close to home rotations will need to be at hospitals with only family residencies or preceptor style rotations. I don't know about KCUMB-Joplin's fate considering that the mother school KCUMB may help with rotation sites. However, the others will definitely be spread far and wide to have access to hospitals with GME. The state would need to increase the amount and types of residencies being offered in Arkansas in order to give the students greater access to ward type rotations.
 
It is going to suck most likely. Most of the close to home rotations will need to be at hospitals with only family residencies or preceptor style rotations. I don't know about KCUMB-Joplin's fate considering that the mother school KCUMB may help with rotation sites. However, the others will definitely be spread far and wide to have access to hospitals with GME. The state would need to increase the amount and types of residencies being offered in Arkansas in order to give the students greater access to ward type rotations.


Freeman health system is essentially going to be KCU-Joplins teaching hospital so that's been locked in for sure.

Luckily for us 2019'ers we won't have to worry about feeling the squeeze by these new schools for clinical sites.
 
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So can anyone remind me how many MORE new schools or class expansions are starting in fall 2015, fall 2016 and fall 2017?

I think the last big increase was fall 2013 with 3 new schools: MUCOM-Indy, the North Carolina school and Alabama school in Dothan.
 
So can anyone remind me how many MORE new schools or class expansions are starting in fall 2015, fall 2016 and fall 2017?

I think the last big increase was fall 2013 with 3 new schools: MUCOM-Indy, the North Carolina school and Alabama school in Dothan.

2015- VCOM-auburn, OU-HCOM-Cleveland
2016- Burrell-COM, NYIT-Arknsas, University of Incarnate Word, RVU-SUCOM, AR-COM
2017-KCU-Joplin, Touro-Gaylord

I don't know if Incarnate Word and RVU-SUCOM will open in 2016. They seem to be the anticipated dates. And the acronyms are starting to hurt my head.
 
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2015- VCOM-auburn, OU-HCOM-Cleveland
2016- Burrell-COM, NYIT-Arknsas, University of Incarnate Word, RVU-SUCOM, AR-COM
2017-KCU-Joplin, Touro-Gaylord

I don't know if Incarnate Word and RVU-SUCOM will open in 2016. They seem to be the anticipated dates. And the acronyms are starting to hurt my head.
This is nuts. Without proper residency funding, this is setting us up for embarrassment and possibly disaster
 
So can anyone remind me how many MORE new schools or class expansions are starting in fall 2015, fall 2016 and fall 2017?

I think the last big increase was fall 2013 with 3 new schools: MUCOM-Indy, the North Carolina school and Alabama school in Dothan.

That was around 500 students in 2013. In 2014 around 300 were added with LUCOM and several class expansions. It looks like 2016 will be another big increase on the order of 500-800 more students.
 
Two DO schools opening up in the same state at the same time is rather unprecedented, if I'm not mistaken. It might be interesting to see if they start a mad scramble to scoop up preceptors and hospital affiliations, starting on equal footing.

If I read correctly, Arkansas COM is going to be aligned with the majority health systems in Fort Smith (Sparks and Mercy), and a couple of smaller ones in Eastern OK. NYIT-AR, will probably grab up everything in N. Central and NE Arkansas, maybe even some options in Memphis, especially for ER and trauma. They may even try for White County Medical Center in Searcy (about 1.5 hours Southwest), especially with the new IM, FM, and Psych residencies there.

I wonder how rotation sites will work out with NYIT-Arkansas, ArkansasCOM, and KCUMB-Joplin all being so close together.

It will be interesting to see what comes about, We'll probably lose the few we currently have in Arkansas the same way we lost the AMEC when ACOM opened.
 
If I read correctly, Arkansas COM is going to be aligned with the majority health systems in Fort Smith (Sparks and Mercy), and a couple of smaller ones in Eastern OK. NYIT-AR, will probably grab up everything in N. Central and NE Arkansas, maybe even some options in Memphis, especially for ER and trauma. They may even try for White County Medical Center in Searcy (about 1.5 hours Southwest), especially with the new IM, FM, and Psych residencies there.



It will be interesting to see what comes about, We'll probably lose the few we currently have in Arkansas the same way we lost the AMEC when ACOM opened.

Do you all think that the potential clinical sites for NYIT-AR will be available to current NYIT-NY students before AR produces M3/M4 classes. Could be a great option for some who want a certain specialty rotation, especially with Hofstra taking over NS-LIJ recently.
 
I just wish they would work on their naming schemes.
 
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This is beyond ridiculous with the expansion of DO schools like it's a new phone factory out of COCA...every year can't have new schools with little to no GME growth...
 
I don't want to be a hater, but if Arkansas needed more docs, wouldn't it be easier just to expand the original allopathic school?

They would need to hustle to find some more rotation sites, but with the infrastructure already in place, this would be the most efficient
plan.

Am I missing something here?
 
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I don't want to be a hater, but if Arkansas needed more docs, wouldn't it be easier just to expand the original allopathic school?

They would need to hustle to find some more rotation sites, but with the infrastructure already in place, this would be the most efficient
plan.

Am I missing something here?

I don't think it would. LCME standards really restrict the expansion of their MD class sizes.

DO schools can easily open a satellite campus because the building doesn't require anything except a few offices, a lecture hall, and some OMM tables! This can be done by fairly easily by purchasing what used to be a costco warehouse, or an old hospital or hotel.
 
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I don't think it would. LCME standards really restrict the expansion of their MD class sizes.

DO schools can easily open a satellite campus because the building doesn't require anything except a few offices, a lecture hall, and some OMM tables! This can be done by fairly easily by purchasing what used to be a costco warehouse, or an old hospital or hotel.

I guess where I am struggling is --- I know allopathic classes vary in size and the Razorbacks are at 174 --- nowhere near the max for a class.

The LCME wouldn't allow for expansion from 174? In a state that only has one school? I find that hard to believe.
 
I think it's great that Arkansas is getting an Osteopathic school. As physicians and future physicians, it is easy to disapprove of the opening of new schools b/c it isn't being done in a way that some feel honors the tradition and effort that supports and has gone into their medical education. The fact is, the US needs more doctors, everywhere, especially in places like Arkansas (and rural areas and the south generally.) I'm from the northeast, in a city where 1/4 physicians is educated at some point in their lives... we are doing fine. However, if I was from Jonesboro, Arkansas, then I would be proud and happy that we were getting a medical school. For everyone who is hating on this school, or other branch campuses, or new schools in places where they are needed: They need PCPs, that costs a lot of money to make happen, DO schools are much better at providing PCPs, and branch campuses, or private proprietary schools, are the most financially viable way to make that happen. The people at COCA know a lot more about accreditation than any of us, and they haven't given us a bunch of stupid doctors yet.
 
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I think it's great that Arkansas is getting an Osteopathic school. As physicians and future physicians, it is easy to disapprove of the opening of new schools b/c it isn't being done in a way that some feel honors the tradition and effort that supports and has gone into their medical education. The fact is, the US needs more doctors, everywhere, especially in places like Arkansas (and rural areas and the south generally.) I'm from the northeast, in a city where 1/4 physicians is educated at some point in their lives... we are doing fine. However, if I was from Jonesboro, Arkansas, then I would be proud and happy that we were getting a medical school. For everyone who is hating on this school, or other branch campuses, or new schools in places where they are needed: They need PCPs, that costs a lot of money to make happen, DO schools are much better at providing PCPs, and branch campuses, or private proprietary schools, are the most financially viable way to make that happen. The people at COCA know a lot more about accreditation than any of us, and they haven't given us a bunch of stupid doctors yet.
Hasn't it been shown that where you go to medical school is not correlated to where you end up practicing? I believe there is a higher correlation with residency and future practice locale. Therefore, creating schools in places with healthcare shortages isn't addressing the problem of lack of GME is said areas.
 
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Hasn't it been shown that where you go to medical school is not correlated to where you end up practicing? I believe there is a higher correlation with residency and future practice locale. Therefore, creating schools in places with healthcare shortages isn't addressing the problem of lack of GME is said areas.
A large part of what these schools are focused on, is in working to increase the number of residency spots available in these states. Sure, there may not be a direct correlation between medical schools and where a physician practices after residency, but there is certainly a greater number of residency spots and more physicians in states where there are more medical schools. The idea of some previous posters that increasing medical schools or residencies is somehow going to decrease the value of us as individuals is simply conjecture... The U.S. needs more physicians everywhere, and especially in states like Arkansas the demand far surpasses the supply. You are not going to have more physicians w/o having more medical schools or more medical spots and more residencies. Yes, we should focus on increasing residencies in these states, but who else is going to do that? And where are more physicians going to come from to fill those spots? I hope from U.S. medical schools.
 
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