Morgan State University (MSU) is about to make history.
According to CBS News, the Maryland-based educational institution will become the first HBCU to open a new medical school in 45 years.
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A Win For Maryland HBCUs
The year 2021 was a huge one for HBCUs in Maryland.
In fact, Coppin State University, Bowie State University, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and Morgan State University won a $577 million lawsuit against the state due to inadequate funding, per reports from The Washington Post.
The motion has been 15 years in the making.
The Partnership
Now, in partnership with Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital, MSU will launch a for-profit, private medical school.
They are aiming to open their doors in 2024.
“Let’s do this for Baltimore, let’s do this for our community,” said the Founding Dean of the proposed College of Osteopathic Medicine at MSU, Dr. John Sealey, according to CBS.
Addressing The Needs Of Others
Once established, the medical school will be home to 700 students and 150 employees. Through the establishment, the school hopes to give underserved minority students an opportunity to see all that the city of Baltimore has to offer, while addressing the need for more physicians across the nation.
“There’s a shortage in the next 10 years, anywhere between 35,000 to 120,000 physicians in the United States of America,” Ascension St. Agnes Chief Medical Officer, Jon D’Souza said, according to CBS. “We want to make sure we’re doing our part in training the next generation and we also want to make sure that the physicians we’re training are coming from the community they’re going to serve.”
According to D’Souza, students will receive training that cannot be found everywhere.
“It’s going to have a strong emphasis on population health,” he also said, CBS reports. “That means we don’t just fix a problem when it becomes a medical issue, we work within communities to prevent problems.”
