The Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2024, signed into law by President Biden on March 9, includes $150,000 in federal funding for Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine.
The provision was sponsored by Congressman Guy Reschenthaler and Senator John Fetterman.
“I’m proud to have secured $150,000 in community project funding for the Indiana University of Pennsylvania osteopathic school of medicine as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2024, which was signed into law last week,” Congressman Reschenthaler said. “This funding will support critical scientific research and increase health care access for rural communities, leading to better outcomes for patients throughout southwestern Pennsylvania.”
“I’m proud to have helped deliver this funding to IUP,” said Senator Fetterman. “These federal dollars will help to create IUP’s school of osteopathic medicine. We are facing a health care provider workforce shortage in Pennsylvania, and especially in underserved and rural communities—this important project will help address it.”
IUP’s Council of Trustees endorsed the exploration of a possible development of a college of osteopathic medicine at IUP in December 2022. The university chose to explore a proposed college of osteopathic medicine based on several factors, including the critical need for rural health care; there are not enough trained physicians to provide care to Pennsylvania’s citizens: the ratio of patients to available primary care physicians is 1,367 to 1, according to the United Health Foundation.
There are only three colleges of osteopathic medicine in Pennsylvania, all at private universities; when established, IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine would be the fourth college of osteopathic medicine in the commonwealth and the only college of osteopathic medicine at a public university in Pennsylvania.
“IUP is honored to have the support of Congressman Reschenthaler and Senator Fetterman in advancing our proposed college of osteopathic medicine,” IUP President Michael Driscoll said.
“Congressman Reschenthaler, in his first term representing IUP, and Senator Fetterman, during his first term in the Senate, have shown their commitment to education, economic development, healthcare, and a vision to take IUP and Indiana into the future, serving the needs of the Commonwealth and the nation,” President Driscoll said.
“Congressman Reschenthaler’s vision for advancing unconventional pathways for young people to find their life paths fits well into IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine, which will provide a career track for students to enter a profession that previously may have been financially out of reach. The medical community and our community at large will be the ultimate beneficiaries.
“I was honored to be part of one of the first meetings Senator Fetterman held during his medical recovery,” President Driscoll said. “I admire his transparency, determination, and grit. His support for IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine and advocacy for better healthcare services for rural communities will help ensure that people from geographical and economically underserved areas will receive necessary and better services to address their needs,” President Driscoll said.
National studies show that osteopathic medicine graduates are more likely to pursue primary care in rural and underserved areas—57 percent of all doctors of osteopathic medicine practice as general practitioners, and more than 20 percent of DO graduates practice in rural areas. Demand is high for osteopathic medicine training: in 2021, 22,708 applicants competed for 8,280 seats at schools of osteopathic medicine.
On January 31, Senator Joe Pittman announced that as part of the 2023–24 state budget which was just completed in December, $2 million was set aside for IUP’s new college of osteopathic medicine. These new dollars are an investment above and beyond what IUP receives in the budget, the Senator said. This funding will be used largely to support the operations at the start of the medical school.
Senator Pittman’s announcement followed the news of a $500,000 donation from the Alumni Association Board of Directors to IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine project. The IUP Alumni Association is an independent, nonprofit corporation governed by an elected board of directors.
In May, IUP received a $1 million pledge for the proposed college of osteopathic medicine from IUP graduate and 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient Rich Caruso. In July 2023, IUP received a $40,000 gift for the proposed college from IUP graduates Nick Jacobs and Mary Ann Hoysan Jacobs. Nick Jacobs is a 2005 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient who has a 1969 bachelor’s degree in education and a 1972 master’s degree in music education; Mary Ann Jacobs has a 1968 bachelor’s degree in music education and a 1993 master’s degree in adult and community education.
In November 2023, IUP welcomed Miko Rose as the founding dean of the proposed college of osteopathic medicine. Rose comes to IUP from Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine, where she was associate professor and chief of the Division of Psychiatry in the Department of Clinical Medicine and assistant dean for Clinical Education.
She founded and started the Joy Initiative at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine and College of Osteopathic Medicine schools. She completed her medical training at Michigan State.
The hiring of a founding dean for IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine is one of the first steps to establishing the college. With this selection complete, IUP has formally initiated steps towards accreditation from the American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation, a three- to five-year process that includes submission of self-studies and a feasibility study, along with site visits.