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Scheduled to open in June, this 105,000-square-feet facility will house the new DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tenn.

Dr. A.T. Still would be so proud.

Still, the founder of American osteopathic medicine, was born in 1828 in Lee County, Va., just 30 miles from Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) in Harrogate, Tenn. On Aug. 1, classes are set to begin at the new DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine on the LMU campus.

"There's been a tremendous outpouring from the healthcare community to support this new school. There's just such a shortage of physicians, and everyone's prediction is that that's going to get even worse, so really everyone in this region is rising to the occasion to help this new school get started," said Dr. Ray Stowers, dean of the new college and an osteopathic physician himself.

Stowers recalled the day when Autry O.V. "Pete" DeBusk approached him with the idea of an LMU medical school. An LMU alumnus and chairman of the board of trustees, DeBusk is the owner and founder of Knoxville-based DeRoyal Industries, a global manufacturer of medical supplies. The result of that conversation? On Aug. 1, 2005, LMU submitted its application to launch a new school to the American Osteopathic Association's Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation, and in September 2006, the DeBusk College was granted provisional accreditation.

"We will stay provisional up until just before the graduation of the first class in 2011, with a new site visit every year reevaluating us," Stowers explained. "Once we've made it through all four years, then right before that graduation, the medical school is granted full accreditation so that the students graduate from a fully accredited medical school."

Provisional status means the college is "still under the watchful eye" of the national organization until four classes have matriculated, Stowers added. It also means that the college may interview potential students. At the end of November, the college had received more than 1,400 applications from nearly every state. "We're already writing invitation letters," he said.

The DeBusk College is set up to receive 150 students in each class, "so it's a big medical school," Stowers said. Thus, by the time the first class enters its senior year in 2010, there should be 600 students enrolled in the college. "We put a heavy emphasis and priority on students from this region, knowing that if we recruit in this region and train in this region, they're more likely to stay in this region. But our class will be made up of students from all over the United States," he said. One of the missions of the DeBusk College is to address the medical needs of the Appalachian region.

At the college, the students will spend their first two years studying the basic sciences mixed in with learning clinical skills. The last two years, the students will be in hospital and clinic settings actually seeing patients. "We've lined up over 3,500 hospital beds at this point," Stowers said, "with partnerships with the University of Tennessee, with Covenant Health, with the St. Mary's Health System and several other hospitals throughout this corridor, including East Tennessee Children's Hospital." The geographic corridor, he said, stretches from Chattanooga north into Kentucky and includes Knoxville and the Tri-Cities area.

"We're so happy about all the clinical training sites, and we received a rare commendation from the accrediting body for the expected clinical experience and exposure that our third- and fourth-year students are going to get," he said, adding that it's the hope that students will remain in the area for their residency of at least three years. "The better job we do providing residency slots for them to train in locally the more apt they are to stay and serve locally where we need them," he said.

In addition to the required medical curriculum, students of osteopathic medicine train at least 200 extra hours, studying the musculoskeletal system and learning osteopathic manipulation techniques. Osteopathic physicians practice "a whole person approach to medicine. Instead of just treating specific symptoms or illnesses, they regard your body as an integrated whole," according to the American Osteopathic Association. There's also a strong emphasis on preventive healthcare. While nearly 70 percent of osteopathic physicians practice in the primary care areas, many are in specialties from dermatology and cardiology to surgery.

Because LMU is a private university, Stowers declined to reveal the investment necessary to launch the new DeBusk College. The costs include a new 105,000-square-feet, four-story building with advanced clinical testing areas, laboratories and research space, and examination rooms. "I don't know how else to say this except that it's going to be absolutely state-of-the-art," he said. "We're spending several million dollars just in technology." The building is expected to open in June. Faculty and most staff members already are hired, and the curriculum is approved.

Nestled next to the Cumberland Gap National Historic Park, the scenic LMU campus offers a relaxed and safe environment. The university recently purchased a large hotel in the Cumberland Gap area, which is being remodeled into affordable apartments for the soon-to-arrive medical students. Also, new apartments are under construction on campus, and private developers are building apartments and condominiums as well.

Osteopathic medicine is one of the fastest growing medical professions in the country and, including the DeBusk College, there are fewer than 30 osteopathic medical schools. That should keep the applications pouring into Harrogate.


February 2007

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