The Medical College of Wisconsin’s board of trustees has authorized the creation of new community-based medical education campuses in Green Bay and a yet-to-determined site in central Wisconsin.
MCW is launching the community-based medical education initiative to address the shortage of physicians and other health care providers in Wisconsin, especially in underserved rural and urban areas.
“The Medical College of Wisconsin is committed to developing community-based medical education programs that mirror the quality and success of the Medical College of Wisconsin’s medical education program in Milwaukee,” said Edward Zore, chairman of the MCW’s board. “We believe the milestones identified in the development phase will ensure our partner communities, health care systems and academic institutions that this investment in expanded medical education will result in a steady supply of physicians to meet each region’s future needs.”
John R. Raymond Sr., M.D., MCW president and CEO, said, “Factors that led to our determination that Central Wisconsin and Green Bay are appropriate sites for the development of plans for a community-based medical education program are: strong health systems with outstanding physicians and established programs for student-focused clinical experiences, quality academic institutions with a scientific program infrastructure, and civic and business engagement and enthusiastic support. These communities also expressed a strong readiness to proceed.”
Raymond added, “The Medical College of Wisconsin is committed to developing multiple community-based medical education sites throughout Wisconsin. In addition to Green Bay and Central Wisconsin, we received enthusiastic responses from several other communities who want to be considered at a later date. We will continue to engage in discussions with communities across the state with the hope that other sites could be developed. We will continue discussions with potential partners in multiple regions of Wisconsin; no sites have been ruled out.”
Regional health systems, academic institutions and civic and business leaders in Central Wisconsin and Green Bay will partner with MCW in the development phase. Raymond said, “Our shared goal is to partner in developing Medical College of Wisconsin medical school campuses that reflect the community’s values and address community needs.”
A next step in the development phase will be to engage physician practices, county medical societies and academic and health system leaders in the planning of the two community-based medical education campuses.
“We believe that there is a rich pool of potential Wisconsin-based medical school applicants for our community-based medical education program,” said Joseph Kerschner, M.D.,dean of the Medical School and executive vice president of the Medical College of Wisconsin. “On average, 625 Wisconsin residents apply annually to MCW’s medical education program. A substantial number of these applicants reside in underserved rural or urban areas of the state.”
