Medical school clears obstacle

The Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation of the American Osteopathic Association has approved Western University of Health Sciences application to open its proposed medical school in Lebanon.

The approval removed an important hurdle in the process, according to Samaritan Health Services President and CEO Larry Mullins. The school, construction on which is expected to begin this summer, will be jointly operated by Samaritan Health Services and the Pomona based Western University.

Mullins said approval allows the partnership to be finalized and construction plans to move forward. SHS currently hosts third- and fourth-year medical students from Western who are completing clerkships with local physicians.

“This represents a significant milestone in our efforts to develop the new medical school and expand the supply of physicians in our area and in Oregon,” said Mullins.

The medical school complex, to be constructed on 51 acres west of Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital, would include one or more medical school buildings, a hotel, retail space, restaurant and conference center.

Plans call for classes to begin in 2011 at the Lebanon site. Mullins said the medical school would serve as the initial anchor for the campus with related projects to follow.

The osteopathic college would be the first new medical school built in Oregon in more than a century. The initial classes are expected to draw 100 students with a population of about 400 targeted by 2014.

“It’s really going to make a difference in the whole valley and the state as far as training new physicians,” said Mullins.

He said there is a shortage of primary care physicians in the mid-valley and the hope is that med school graduates would stay in the area to practice.

Future possibilities for the campus include programs in nursing, optometry, dentistry and public health administration. The degree programs would likely be taught by faculty from Western University and Linn-Benton Community College.