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Feature: Priority Number One:
                         Leading the transformation of primary care

Through the generosity of the Osteopathic Heritage
Foundation, OU-HCOM became the recipient of a gift like
no other. Of the top contributions to medical schools, we
believe it’s the only gift of its magnitude to support primary
care training, and it could not have come at a better time.

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges,
the country is expected to face a shortage of 45,000 primary
care providers within the next ten years. On top of that, the
implementation of the Affordable Care Act by 2014 will enhance
access to health care for 32 million additional Americans to
insurance, including 1.3 million Ohioans.

The gift from the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation allows the
college to carry out a bold vision, building upon its strengths in training
primary care physicians and positioning the college to fill an even bigger
role in addressing the state’s and the nation’s health care needs. Initiatives
funded by the gift are intended to increase the number of primary care
physicians and transform primary care education itself.

OU-HCOM has proven itself to be a leader in training primary
care physicians. Fifty percent of our graduates remain in Ohio to
practice, with 57 percent specializing in primary care. The college also
has the highest percentage of graduates practicing in primary care health
professional shortage areas in the state compared to other Ohio medical
schools. The college was ranked 11th in the nation among 159 medical
schools in training physicians who serve in rural communities, according
to a study published in the April 2010 issue of Academic Medicine, the
journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Three Campuses One College