LAS CRUCES, N.M., April 27, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a "pouring the foundation for the future" ceremony for a New Mexico college that will be the first of its kind in the nation, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez joined Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine (BCOM) Executive Chairman Daniel C. Burrell, New Mexico State University President Garrey Carruthers, Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima, El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser, Ciudad Juarez Mayor Enrique Serrano, and Robert S. Juhasz, DO – President American Osteopathic Association (AOA). Also in attendance were BCOM's board of trustees and senior leadership, bipartisan elected officials and dignitaries from the Borderplex region to celebrate the monumental impact the privately funded, pre-accredited Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine will have on the economy, as well as the education and healthcare systems in the region. "We are laying the foundation for a healthcare workforce capable of ensuring the high-quality care that New Mexico's families need and deserve," said Governor Susana Martinez. "The Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine will be a proud example of how public-private partnerships can bring communities together to make life better for New Mexicans." At the ceremony, Governor Martinez officially announced the results of BCOM's accreditation award from the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA). The Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation, at their April 18th, 2015 meeting in Chicago, approved and awarded BCOM with the status of Pre-accreditation with permission to immediately solicit applications from prospective students but not offer admission or begin instruction and effective July 1, 2015, Provisional Accreditation, with permission to offer admission and begin instruction. BCOM's first medical school class is projected to begin in August 2016. "New Mexico State University is delighted to play a role in this public-private educational partnership to benefit the health and well-being of people across the region," NMSU President Garrey Carruthers said. "The future of higher education will involve more of these kinds of partnerships, where public universities and the private sector work together to benefit the communities we serve." Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine at New Mexico State University will help solve the shortages in the medical field in the New Mexico, Texas, and Chihuahua, MX region by serving approximately 600 students by 2020, with a goal of creating 600 or more residency slots in the Borderplex region over the next 10 years, where both healthcare professionals and education opportunities are greatly needed. In fact, BCOM has already facilitated the approval and submission of over 60 new residency positions at hospitals in Las Cruces within the areas of family practice, internal medicine, orthopedic residency, psychiatry and anesthesia with more under development in Albuquerque and El Paso. "It's exciting to be behind the scenes of an educational institution that serves as a win-win for all, that is a model for improving our secondary education system, and that will have a great positive impact on the region," said Burrell. "We've received our pre-accreditation, and we're moving full-speed ahead with this project. We're not just creating a school; we're creating opportunity." In the college's planning and start-up phases, the economic impact is estimated at $87.3 million, and the project will create 360 construction jobs (with an estimated $77.7 million in economic impact and 350 jobs per year upon full operation). This first-of-its-kind in the United States partnership between a public university and private investors is a model solution to improve healthcare, education, and the economy—with strong bipartisan support from leaders in New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico.
The Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine at New Mexico State University is a free-standing, privately-funded, separately licensed and independently operated entity and not part of NMSU. For more information on BCOM, go to: www.bcomNM.org
A photo accompanying this release is available at: http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=32438
Joanie Griffin, (505) 261-4444
