Campbell’s School of Osteopathic Medicine was awarded pre-accreditation status in September, another important step toward the opening of North Carolina’s first new medical school in 35 years.
The University is eyeing a 2013 opening for the school which is expected to have 600 students by its fourth year and to have an economic impact of $300 million with 1,150 new jobs. The Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) granted Campbell its pre-accreditation status and will consider the University for provisional accreditation in 2012.
“Launching a medical school is one of the most important steps ever taken at Campbell University,” said Dr. Jerry M. Wallace, President of Campbell University. “Our focus will be to train primary care physicians and address a critical shortage of health care professionals throughout North Carolina.”
According a 2009 study by the North Carolina Institute of Medicine, medical school graduates choosing primary care dropped 50 percent between 1997 and 2005. And North Carolina is projected to experience a 12 percent decline in physician supply by 2020 and a 26 percent decline by 2030.
A groundbreaking ceremony for a new 96,500-square-foot medical school facility will be held in December. The school will be located on U.S. 421 about one-quarter mile from the main Campbell University campus and will cost more than $60 million in construction and start-up costs.