Indiana University of Pennsylvania President Michael Driscoll and IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine Founding Dean Miko Rose are featured on Our Region’s Business, a news show jointly produced by the Allegheny Conference and Pittsburgh’s WPXI-TV.
The show is hosted by Bill Flanagan, chief corporate relations officer at the Allegheny Conference on Community Development.
The segment aired on the March 18 episode of the show. It is available on the Our Region’s Business website.
IUP’s Council of Trustees endorsed the exploration of a possible development of a college of osteopathic medicine at IUP in December 2022. 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, a three- to five-year process that includes submission of self-studies and a feasibility study, along with site visits.
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.
Rose, named one of Pennsylvania’s Fifty Over 50 top leaders in 2024 by City & State Pennsylvania, 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.
IUP 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; IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine would be the only college of osteopathic medicine at a public university.
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.
To date, IUP has secured more than $31 million in private and government funding for the initiative. Once established, a college of osteopathic medicine at IUP is expected to generate $79 million in annual regional economic impact.
IUP has finalized 11 clinical training affiliation agreements for students in the proposed college of osteopathic medicine: Conemaugh Nason Medical Center, Penn Highlands Healthcare, and Clarion Psychiatric Center in February; Armstrong County Memorial Hospital in January; Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in December 2024; Broad Top Area Medical Center, Hyndman Area Health Centers, Nulton Diagnostics and Treatment Center, and the Primary Health Network in November 2024; Indiana Regional Medical Center in September 2024; and Punxsutawney Area Hospital in June 2024.
IUP’s Indiana Campus Long-Range Facilities Master Plan update, approved in January 2024 by the IUP Council of Trustees, recommended IUP’s Johnson Hall, Uhler Hall, and Stright Hall be the site for the health sciences cluster, with a renovated and expanded Johnson Hall as the primary location for the proposed college of osteopathic medicine.
This proposed health science cluster will provide a transformational modern medical education facility, supporting and housing the proposed college of osteopathic medicine and related IUP health science programs in the College of Health Sciences.
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.