On June 16, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber formalized a clinical training affiliation agreement for future students at Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine.
IUP has formally initiated steps towards accreditation of its proposed college of osteopathic medicine from the American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation, following the IUP Council of Trustees’ December 2022 endorsement of the exploration of a possible development of a college of osteopathic medicine at IUP.
Securing clinical training sites for students is part of the successful accreditation process. Typically, students in colleges of osteopathic medicine spend the first two years of their education in the classroom; during the third and fourth years, students are based in the community at clinical sites.
Persons seated signing the clinical training affiliation agreement are, from left, IUP proposed college of osteopathic medicine Founding Dean Miko Rose, IUP President Michael Driscoll, Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber CEO Richard Sukenik, and Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber Chief Medical Officer David Csikos.
Today’s signing ceremony took place at CSSMCW. Hospital leadership who were part of the ceremony included CEO Richard Sukenik, Chief Medical Officer David Csikos, and Physician Medical Director/Emergency Medicine Joshua Hinson.
IUP was represented by IUP President Michael Driscoll; proposed college of osteopathic medicine Founding Dean Miko Rose, and Founding Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs and Graduate Medical Education Ryan Smith. Community and legislative leaders recognized during the event included Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky; John Frick, representing Senator Patrick Stefano; and Nick and Mary Ann Hoysan Jacobs, of Windber, who donated $40,000 to advance the project. 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. Nick Jacobs is the cofounder and president of the Windber Research Institute (now Chan Soon-Shiong Institute for Molecular Medicine in Windber) and the founder of the Clinical and Translational Genome Research Institute, a research institute that is now part of Southern California University of Health Sciences in Los Angeles.
President Driscoll, Founding Dean Rose, CSSMCW CMO Csikos, and CEO Sukenik signed the agreement.
Proposed college of osteopathic medicine Founding Dean Miko Rose
IUP President Michael Driscoll
“We continue to see incredible support and excitement from our community healthcare partners for our training affiliations,” Driscoll said.
“Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber will be an excellent fit for our students, as it shares our proposed college of osteopathic medicine’s commitment to rural medicine and professional development of the next generation of physicians seeking careers in healthcare for underserved rural communities. We are very proud to be affiliated with Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber,” President Driscoll said.
“Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber’s strong position as a leader in rural healthcare and its collaboration with Chan Soon-Shiong Institute of Molecular Medicine can offer an outstanding experience for our students on many fronts, including the opportunity for research that doctor of osteopathic medicine students don’t normally have,” Dean Rose said.
“IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine pledges to be a leader in creating an interprofessional educational network emphasizing expertise in medical research, community outreach, and evidence-based clinical care for our nation’s most under-resourced rural populations. Our relationship with Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber will help us to meet this important goal,” she said.
“This partnership with IUP and the proposed college of osteopathic medicine is a major step forward in strengthening healthcare in rural communities,” CEO Sukenik said. “Physician shortages are reaching critical levels, especially in rural America, and having dedicated partners committed to improving community access to healthcare is an integral component to addressing this problem. We are extremely grateful to help support the College’s efforts in launching this program.”
Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber Chief Medical Officer David Csikos
Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber CEO Richard Sukenik
Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber Physician Medical Director/Emergency Medicine Joshua Hinson
The Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber clinical training agreement is IUP’s 14th formal signed agreement. Agreements are in place with Conemaugh Meyersdale Medical Center, Torrance State Hospital, Conemaugh Nason Medical Center, Penn Highlands Healthcare, Clarion Psychiatric Center, Armstrong County Memorial Hospital, Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center, Broad Top Area Medical Center, Hyndman Area Health Centers, Nulton Diagnostics and Treatment Center, The Primary Health Network, Indiana Regional Medical Center, and Punxsutawney Area Hospital.
IUP has secured 200 percent of the clinical training spots required for accreditation.
Rose was hired as the founding dean of the proposed college of osteopathic medicine in November 2023; the hiring of a founding dean is one of the first steps to establishing the college.
Named one of Pennsylvania’s Fifty Over 50 top leaders in 2024 by City & State Pennsylvania, Rose is one of fewer than 150 physicians elected as a fellow of the American College of Neuropsychiatrists by the Fellows of the American College of Neuropsychiatrists/American College of Osteopathic Neurologists and Psychiatrists. She was an invited panelist for the June 3 Rural Economic Development Summit in Harrisburg hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, addressing “What Can Be Done in Rural Pennsylvania? The Power of Partnership.”
In addition to Founding Dean Rose and Associate Founding Dean Smith, IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine administrative team includes Founding Associate Dean of Preclinical Affairs Luke H. Mortensen.
There are only three colleges of osteopathic medicine in Pennsylvania, all at private universities; IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine would be the only college of osteopathic medicine at a public university.
From left: IUP proposed college of osteopathic medicine Founding Associate Dean of Preclinical Affairs Luke Mortensen; IUP proposed college of osteopathic medicine steering committee member Sharon Cowden; CSSMCW Physician Medical Director/Emergency Medicine Joshua Hinson; Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky; IUP proposed college of osteopathic medicine Founding Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs and Graduate Medical Education Ryan Smith; proposed college of osteopathic medicine Founding Dean Miko Rose; IUP President Michael Driscoll; CSSMCW CEO Richard Sukenik; Nick Jacobs, IUP Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, donor to the project and cofounder and president of the Windber Research Institute (now Chan Soon-Shiong Institute for Molecular Medicine in Windber); John Frick, representing Senator Patrick Stefano; CSSMCW Chief Medical Officer David Csikos; CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of Chan Soon-Shiong Institute of Molecular Medicine at Windber Hai Hu
Doctors of osteopathic medicine, or DOs, complete four years of osteopathic medical school, with an emphasis on preventive medicine and comprehensive patient care. They are trained to recognize the interrelated unity among all systems of the body, each working with the other to promote overall health and wellness. Osteopathic medical schools have a long tradition of serving rural communities. Physicians who are trained in osteopathic medicine are four times more likely to select primary care specialties and almost twice as likely to practice in rural areas as allopathic (MD) students are.
National studies show that graduates from programs of osteopathic medicine 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.
IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine and IUP’s commitment to addressing the rural health crisis have resulted in funding from individual donors, foundations, agencies, and legislators totaling more than $34.3 million. Recent support includes:
- In April, IUP received a $1 million gift from an anonymous alumnus of IUP, who is a native of Indiana County, and a $50,000 gift from Lt. Col. Barry Gasdek, a 1964 graduate and 2015 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient originally from Westmoreland County;
- In February, IUP announced gifts totaling $500,000: a $250,000 gift from an anonymous donor and a $250,000 gift from the Fairman Family Foundation of DuBois;
- In December 2024, Theodore Lazzaro, board-certified surgeon and founder of Aestique Med Spa, gifted $50,000 to IUP for scholarships for students in health care professions;
- In October 2024, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Board of Governors designated $2 million in design funds as part of the 2024–25 State System of Higher Education capital allocations budget for the academic building renovation for the health sciences cluster and proposed college of osteopathic medicine;
- Senator Joe Pittman and Representative Jim Struzzi announced in October 2024 that $2 million from the 2024–25 state budget has been set aside for the project;
- In July 2024, IUP graduates Tim and Debra Phillips Cejka gifted $2 million;
- In June 2024, the Foundation for IUP committed $20 million;
- In May 2024, Congressman Guy Reschenthaler included $2 million for IUP’s project among his FY25 requested community projects, and Senator John Fetterman included $2 million on his list to advance in the FY25 Community Project Funding process;
- IUP received a $150,000 allocation for the project in the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2024, which was sponsored by Congressman Reschenthaler and Senator Fetterman and signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 9, 2024;
- In February 2024, the Board of Governors allocated $500,000 for a facilities feasibility study for academic facilities for IUP’s health sciences cluster and proposed college of osteopathic medicine;
- In January 2024, IUP’s Alumni Association Board of Directors authorized a donation of $500,000;
- In December 2023, Sen. Pittman announced that as part of the 2023–24 state budget, $2 million was set aside for the project;
- In July 2023, IUP graduates Nick Jacobs and Mary Ann Hoysan Jacobs donated $40,000 to advance the project. 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 May 2023, Rich Caruso, a 1983 accounting graduate from Meadow Lands, 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient and former president and current member of the Foundation for IUP Board of Directors and member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Board of Governors, announced a pledge of $1 million for the project.
About Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber
Founded in 1906, CSSMCW is an independent, nonprofit acute care hospital in northern Somerset County, bordering Cambria County. The 54-bed hospital shares a campus and collaborates with Chan Soon-Shiong Institute of Molecular Medicine at Windber, a private, nonprofit biomedical research center. With more than 450 employees, CSSMCW is the fourth-largest employer in Somerset County. CSSMCW’s mission is to provide excellence in personalized, quality health care services through innovation, research and education in response to community needs. For more information, visit the Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber.