CLARKS SUMMIT, LACKAWANNA CO. (WOLF) — At the Clarks Summit State Hospital, state leaders and heads of the new Indiana University of Pennsylvania College of Osteopathic Medicine came together for a ceremonial signing to cement a partnership aimed at educating future med school students.
“It’s just a win for everybody involved,” said Dr. Val Arkoosh, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. “We’re so excited that IUP is starting this new school of osteopathic medicine because their mission is to train more rural physicians. And so, we are just jumping on board on that mission and providing sites where those students will be able to train.”
The agreement means that future IUP College of Osteopathic Medicine students will be able to train at the hospital during their third and fourth years – gaining valuable hands-on experience meant to make them more comfortable dealing with patients experiencing a host of mental health symptoms and conditions.
“Our hope is that students will understand the importance of behavioral health and mental health in psychiatry, regardless of the specialty they choose, and that they’ll have additional skills and tools to be even more connected and develop those communication skills that are so crucial to treating the rural population,” said IUP College of Osteopathic Medicine founding dean Miko Rose.
Both the school and the state hope that training and future residency opportunities at the hospital will keep more doctors within the state, especially in more rural areas – a place severely underrepresented in healthcare.
“When you look at the state averages, on average, there are 1 to 1000 primary care providers to patients, but the average means that that’s the average,” continued Rose. “So, in rural and rural areas, it’s much more. So. The primary care provider ratio of primary care providers to patients is actually 1 to 2000. And so that’s just a staggering statistic.”
The first class of IUP’s College of Osteopathic Medicine starts late summer 2027, with students expected to start their training at the hospital in 2029.