{"id":343948,"date":"2026-07-17T22:14:39","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T22:14:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/343948\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T22:14:39","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T22:14:39","slug":"citys-first-medical-school-opens-at-jacksonville-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/343948\/","title":{"rendered":"City’s first medical school opens at Jacksonville University"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a $50 million investment into an Arlington campus, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine opened Jacksonville\u2019s first medical school July 17.<\/p>\n

LECOM, which built its Jacksonville campus at Jacksonville University, hosted a ribbon-cutting to open its doors to around 75 Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine students, a field of medicine that focuses on whole-body care and preventive medicine.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t just look to fill the class, but we\u2019re looking to build the future positions for Northeast Florida and Jacksonville,\u201d said Richard Terry, who helped develop LECOM\u2019s campuses at Jacksonville and Elmira, New York. \u201cTogether, we create an environment where students receive an outstanding medical education here at LECOM and have the experience of this really incredible university and university life.\u201d<\/p>\n

LECOM purchased the land for its four-year medical school on 9.87 acres along Dolphin Pointe Boulevard in March 2025 for $5.22 million. The school is part of the 55-acre JU Medical Mall.<\/p>\n

\"Mayor<\/p>\n

Mayor Donna Deegan, flanked by members of LECOM\u2019s inaugural class, speaks at LECOM at Jacksonville University\u2019s ribbon-cutting ceremony.<\/p>\n

Photo by Joe Lister<\/p>\n

In addition to the LECOM facility, the JU Medical Mall features the JU Health Sciences Complex and its School of Orthodontics Teaching Clinic; JU\u2019s Occupational Therapy teaching facility for clinical training; and the 146-bed skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility, Dolphin Pointe Health Care.<\/p>\n

LECOM is also partnering with Baptist Health, UF Health St. Johns and AdventHealth, which will provide third- and fourth-year clinical training opportunities for medical students.\u00a0<\/p>\n

LECOM\u2019s opening at Jacksonville University marks its fifth campus. Headquartered in Erie, Pennsylvania, LECOM also operates schools in Greensburg, Pennsylvania; Elmira; Bradenton; and now, Jacksonville. The school says that it has graduated more than 18,000 healthcare professionals since its 1992 founding.<\/p>\n

LECOM\u2019s campus also marks a second postgraduate expansion for Jacksonville University, which opened its law school in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Jacksonville<\/p>\n

Jacksonville University and city leaders celebrate the opening of LECOM\u2019s newest campus.<\/p>\n

Photo by Joe Lister<\/p>\n

\u201cIt mystified me that this incredible city that … I moved into in 2012 had no honors college, had no STEAM institute, had no law school, had no medical school. It\u2019s almost as though we were trying to stay just a little bit below our weight, so we wouldn\u2019t be disappointed,\u201d said Tim Cost, the university\u2019s chancellor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI thank a very aspirational board of trustees … for having the guts to say, \u2018Let\u2019s go forward and try these things.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

LECOM expects its campus to generate an estimated $91.1 million economic impact for Florida and Jacksonville, according to a news release. By 2030, the campus is projected to support more than 600 jobs while contributing an estimated $60 million annually to the regional economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is especially meaningful because healthcare is about more than hospitals and clinics,\u201d Mayor Donna Deegan said. \u201cIt\u2019s about ensuring that every child, every family, every senior, every neighborhood has access to compassionate, high-quality healthcare.\u201d<\/p>\n

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