IUP President Michael Driscoll welcomes the attendees for the Summit and makes the announcement of a $1 million gift to the IUP proposed college of osteopathic medicine.
During the Western Pennsylvania Regional Rural Health Summit on April 16, hosted by Indiana University of Pennsylvania, IUP President Michael Driscoll announced that an anonymous donor who is a first-generation college graduate of IUP from Indiana County has gifted $1 million to IUP for its proposed college of osteopathic medicine.
With this most recent gift, IUP has secured more than $32 million in private and government funding for the initiative.
The Western Pennsylvania Regional Rural Health Summit was a collaboration with IUP, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. It featured a number of leaders in healthcare for the Commonwealth, including Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Valerie Arkoosh, Secretary of the Department of Health Debra Bogen, and Lindsey Mauldin, deputy chief of staff for Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. Laura Dimino, assistant director of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, and Lisa Davis from the Pennsylvania Center for Rural Health offered remarks on population trends and the role of the Rural Revitalization Commission. IUP Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Lara Luetkehans spoke on “Solutions in Progress: Collaboratively Addressing Rural Health Workforce Challenges.”
Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Valerie Arkoosh
“A strong, accessible, affordable health care system is the foundation of any healthy community, and health care is essential to the economic growth, population revitalization, and stabilization of our rural communities," Secretary Arkoosh said. "Supporting rural health systems and providers must be at the forefront of our work, and I am grateful for IUP’s leadership who are an inspiring example of collaboration, alignment, and vision that can inspire a better future here in the Indiana region and beyond.
The Shapiro Administration is committed to supporting our rural health care providers to ensure that no matter where people live in the Commonwealth, they benefit from a stable health care presence that not only provides essential care, but also job opportunities and economic growth for their community. It is my hope that the conversations at today’s summit will be a catalyst for even greater partnership and collaboration that will move these goals forward.”
State Senate Majority Floor Leader Senator Joe Pittman, State Representative Jim Struzzi, Armstrong County Commissioner Pat Fabian, Indiana Regional Medical Center President and CEO Steve Wolfe, and President Driscoll were panelists for “The State of Rural Health in Pennsylvania” panel discussion. IUP proposed college of osteopathic medicine founding dean Miko Rose was moderator for the panel.
In addition to this panel discussion, the day included breakout sessions addressing issues in rural healthcare: “Expanding Access to Women’s Health and Maternity Care,” “Strengthening Regional Mental and Behavioral Health Response,” “Meeting the Needs of an Aging Population,” “Strengthening Rural Healthcare Partnerships,” and “The Business of Healthcare and Rural Economic Development.”
Participants heard from healthcare leaders about the facts about the demographic and health status of the region, followed by positive examples of local innovations in healthcare delivery, engagement of local businesses, and educational and financial support for rural workforce development.
A focus of the Summit was local workgroups examining the ongoing needs and opportunities and deciding on next steps for expanding, sustaining, and coordinating specific healthcare services in this region, recognizing regional assets, building on the strengths of their relationships, and developing the collaborations and support for transformative innovations in healthcare delivery.
IUP’s Council of Trustees endorsed the exploration of a possible development of a college of osteopathic medicine at IUP in December 2022.
“This generous gift is a testament to the donor’s confidence and support of IUP’s commitment to addressing the rural healthcare crisis and to the donor’s wish to make a difference in the region—and at the university—where they began,” IUP President Driscoll said. “We are humbled and grateful for this gift and for this donor’s ongoing commitment to IUP and this critically important mission,” he said.
From left: IUP proposed college osteopathic medicine Founding Dean Miko Rose; Secretary of the Department of Human Services Valerie Arkoosh; Indiana Regional Medical Center President and CEO Steve Wolfe (at podium), and IUP President Michael Driscoll
Pennsylvania, especially its rural communities, faces an escalating health care crisis associated with the lack of physicians, especially primary care physicians; seven rural counties in Pennsylvania are without a hospital.
“IUP’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine, once established, would be the only college of osteopathic medicine at a public university in Pennsylvania,” President Driscoll said.
“Our vision for our proposed college is that it would become a national leader in providing affordable and accessible preclinical, clinical, graduate, and continuing medical education with a focus on the development of osteopathic physicians equipped to transform the landscape of rural and underserved primary care throughout Pennsylvania and our nation,” he said.
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.
Once established, a college of osteopathic medicine at IUP is expected to generate $79 million in annual regional economic impact.
“We continue to see incredible support from our alumni, friends, community members, legislators, and health care leaders throughout the Commonwealth as we work to move the proposed college of osteopathic medicine forward,” IUP Vice President for University Advancement Jennifer DeAngelo said. “This gift continues that momentum, and we are honored by this generosity and our alumni’s belief in IUP.”
Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health Debra Bogen
“We know from rural healthcare service models that people want to give back to their own communities,” Founding Dean Rose said. “This extraordinarily generous and selfless donation is evidence of that ‘give back’ model and the spirit, caring, and sense of responsibility for community that we consistently see as we move forward in our work to establish Pennsylvania’s first college of osteopathic medicine at a public university. I add my gratitude and thanks to the donor for this wonderful gift.
“This gift and today’s Summit reflects the ‘can do’ attitude that we continue to see when we talk about the health-care crisis in Pennsylvania: a willingness to take on the complex issues related to healthcare, especially rural healthcare, fully and completely—not waiting for others from the outside to solve problems, but working to develop solutions through collaboration and partnerships, putting egos aside to meet the needs of the citizens of the Commonwealth. I couldn’t be prouder to call Pennsylvania my adopted home.”
Doctors of osteopathic medicine complete four years of osteopathic medical school with an emphasis on preventive medicine and comprehensive patient care. National data shows that more than half of the graduates of osteopathic medicine programs pursue a career in primary care, and many choose to practice in rural areas. There has been a 93 percent increase in applicants to colleges of osteopathic medicine since 2011.
IUP President Driscoll speaking to attendees at the Summit
Establishing 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.
IUP has finalized 12 clinical training affiliation agreements for students in the proposed college of osteopathic medicine: 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.
Four additional clinical training affiliation agreement signings are being planned for May, June, and July.
IUP’s Indiana Campus Long-Range Facilities Master Plan update, approved in January 2024 by the IUP Council of Trustees, recommended 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.
In addition to today’s announced gift, other funding advancing the proposed college of osteopathic medicine includes:
- The Fairman Family Foundation made a $250,000 donation to the project in February;
- Two anonymous gifts, both from unique donors, of $250,000 and $25,000 in February and April, respectively;
- In December 2024, Theodore Lazzaro, board-certified surgeon and founder of Aestique Med Spa, gifted $50,000 to IUP for scholarships for students in healthcare professions;
- Senator Joe Pittman and Representative Jim Struzzi announced in October 2024 that $2 million from the 2024–25 state budget was set aside for the project;
- In July 2024, IUP graduates Tim and Debra Phillips Cejka (1973) gifted $2 million. Tim Cejka, a member of IUP’s Council of Trustees since 2018, is an IUP 2006 Distinguished Alumni Award and honorary doctoral degree recipient;
- 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; and
- 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.