Why a School of Medicine?
See
"The Future of Medicine in
Southwest Michigan" (.pdf)
Southwest Michigan has many of the building blocks for a Medical School.
These include:
· Nationally
Recognized University.
Western Michigan University is one of fewer than 200 Carnegie Foundation
designated comprehensive national research universities with nationally
ranked programs in Health and Human Services that include speech
pathology and audiology, blindness and low vision studies and
occupational therapy as well as strong academic programs in physician
assistant, nursing, social work and interdisciplinary health studies.
Western Michigan University has a longstanding and successful pre-med
program that sends its students to some of the finest medical schools in
the country, while maintaining strong graduate education, with doctoral
level programs in several disciplines. Western’s faculty attract about
$35 Million
per year in extramural funding while making substantial and
original academic contributions across several disciplines.
· Nationally
Recognized Hospitals.
The Bronson HealthCare Group and Borgess Health provide a wide spectrum
of sophisticated in-patient and out-patient services with nationally
recognized programs in cardiovascular care and neurology. They provide
an exceptionally high level of patient care to our community.
· 35+
Year History of Medical Education.
The Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies, a cooperative initiative of
Bronson and Borgess, provides medical education for 3rd and 4th year
medical students from Michigan State University, and sponsors internship
and residency programs across several medical and surgical disciplines.
· 100+
Year Heritage of Drug and Medical Device Discovery and Development.
The Kalamazoo community has a heritage of pharmaceutical discovery and
medical device development. The region now boasts 30+ life science
startup companies including the award winning Business Technology and
Research Park on the Parkview Campus of Western Michigan University.
Medical schools offer substantial benefits to their communities.
It would bring additional highly trained faculty to the area,
increase the pipeline of new physicians practicing in Michigan, and
enhance the sophistication and breadth
of patient care.
A medical school
affiliated with Western Michigan University would add
to the university’s existing science and research capabilities, improve
student recruitment, and have a positive impact on other university
programs.
Medical schools can also have a staggering effect on local economies, an issue of particular importance to Michigan as it seeks to reposition itself in a knowledge based economy (see Tripp Umbach Report).