What if? You could change everything? — Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM)
With a generation of small town, family doctors retiring and precious few planning to replace them, it is up to us to pave the way for change.
Together, we can make history by bringing family doctors back to rural areas, especially ours. The first of its kind in the state, the Alabama College Osteopathic Medicine, located in Dothan, Alabama, will groom future doctors for our region.
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Since 1957 Southeast Alabama Medical Center has grown into a 420-bed regional medical center and healthcare system serving more than 600,000 people in the Wiregrass region of southeast Alabama, southwest Georgia and the northern part of the Florida panhandle. As a not-for-profit, locally-owned hospital, all revenue after expenses is reinvested into technology, services and people to provide better healthcare in the Wiregrass region.
Through innovation and sustained financial performance, the Southeast Alabama Medical Center is the largest health care provider in a 75-mile radius of Dothan.
Our Community Need
Including the Wiregrass region, 60 of the 67 Alabama counties have too few primary care physicians. Today, Alabama needs 402 additional primary care physicians to provide adequate coverage for Alabamians. Some of your family, your friends or their families may not have access to a physician to help take care of even the most basic of healthcare needs.
Our Common Goal
Southeast Alabama Medical Center’s position of strength has developed as a result of strategic planning and relationship building. SAMC continuously assesses and strives to meet the healthcare needs of the communities it serves. It is through this process that SAMC is developing a plan to build and operate a 21st century college of osteopathic medicine. Creating the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine, a tuition-driven, private not-for-profit, four-year medical college, is part of the solution to our community and regional medical crisis.
Southeast Alabama Medical Center is uniquely qualified to establish a college of osteopathic medicine. For the past four years the medical center has participated in the Alabama Medical Education Consortium’s (AMEC) medical student training program. Over that period 15 medical students in the AMEC Physician Pipeline have had their community-based training in their 3rd and 4th years at the Medical Center. Our medical center has been their classroom-in-the-field for learning Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, OB-GYN, General Surgery and Psychiatry.
This college is destined to improve access to healthcare for all families in the Wiregrass region and will stimulate a tremendous economic boost by generating jobs and related business start-ups or franchises.
Details
The Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine will be located near SAMC and initially include a 110,000-square-foot, three-story building. With an estimated 60 faculty and staff members, the college enrollment is expected to top 600 students in four years.
On December 14, 2011 pre-accreditation status was received from the Commission for Osteopathic College Accreditation and groundbreaking is set for January 2012. Our goal is to have the first class of 150 students begin their training in the fall of 2013.
The Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce estimates that the medical college will have an economic impact of $112 million through 2015. This figure reflects a direct and indirect retail spending of $26 million, with $1.3 million in county/city sales and lodging taxes. Additionally, it will create more than 300 jobs in construction and another 119 indirect jobs in college operations.
The Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine will be owned and operated by the Houston County Healthcare Authority, which also owns and operates the Southeast Alabama Medical Center. The college will function as an independent, 501 (c)(3) corporation with a president and dean at the helm.
Your Support
Today, SAMC and the people of the Wiregrass region have a unique opportunity to impact their lives and the lives of future generations through the creation of the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine. Public support from individuals, businesses and organizations will help the SAMC Foundation in its role of assisting Southeast Alabama Medical Center in this endeavor. The SAMC Foundation is launching a capital campaign to raise, through charitable deductible donations, a total of $6.6 million in support of the college and the Southeast Alabama Medical Center.
Total cost of the first phase of the medical school project, to include student housing, is approximately $50 million. Financing will be derived from a combination of tax exempt bond issuance and private donations. Private financial support is vitally important in order to minimize the debt burden to the school, and to demonstrate community good will to the bond investors.
Community support including your gift will help make the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine a reality while also assisting the Foundation in its role of helping Southeast Alabama Medical Center provide ongoing cutting-edge technology and services. Join with us in supporting this effort. Your generosity will have a significant impact now and for generations to come.
