New School of Medicine to Enroll First Class in Summer 2011

UNIONDALE, N.Y., June 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Hofstra University President Stuart Rabinowitz, North Shore-LIJ Health System Chief Executive Officer Michael Dowling, and Medical School Dean Lawrence G. Smith, MD, joined together today to announce that the School of Medicine has obtained the necessary accreditations to recruit its first class of 40 medical students. The School of Medicine will be accepting applications as of July 1, 2010, in order to enroll an initial class of 40 students who will begin their studies in summer 2011, creating New York State's first new allopathic medical school since 1963.

The announcement came on the same day as the School of Medicine celebrated the opening of its new academic home, in what was once the headquarters of the New York Jets football franchise.

"We are delighted to witness our vision for an innovative School of Medicine become a reality, and are looking forward to recruiting our inaugural class," said President Rabinowitz. "Our goal is to enhance all our academic programs and research opportunities in the sciences. The School of Medicine will lead the way and partner with the other schools and colleges at Hofstra and with our community to create integrated, interdisciplinary programs that benefit all students."

"The opening of New York State's first allopathic medical school in nearly 40 years is a monumental event in the history of the North Shore-LIJ Health System that will further elevate our national prominence," said Mr. Dowling. "Not only will we be opening our own School of Medicine, but thanks to a highly innovative curriculum, it will transform the education of future physicians by putting students in patient-care settings from Day One."

"This is the culmination of 2 1/2 years of planning, discussion and research, on the part of hundreds of people, to create a cutting-edge medical education curriculum that responds to the modern system of health care," said Dr. Smith, who also serves as North Shore-LIJ's chief medical officer. "This is not only the beginning of a new era for both Hofstra University and North Shore-LIJ Health System, it is also the end of a long process, a process in which we focused on patient care, on rigorous science, and on the health of our population, to come up with a new and innovative curriculum."

On Tuesday, June 1, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) voted to grant the School of Medicine preliminary accreditation, which allows the School to begin recruiting an initial class for the next academic year. In order to receive accreditation, the following steps were completed:

• A modified medical educational database and a comprehensive self-study report was submitted to the LCME in December 2009;
• In March 2010, an LCME team completed a survey visit at the medical school and North Shore-LIJ facilities, and prepared a report of its findings for consideration by the LCME at its next regularly scheduled meeting;
• The LCME reviewed the survey team's report and determined that the program leading to the MD degree met the standards outlined in the LCME document, Guidelines for New and Developing Medical Schools; and
• At its June meeting, the LCME voted to grant preliminary accreditation to the program for an entering class in an upcoming academic year.

Over the past 2 1/2 years, hundreds of physicians, scholars, administrators and leaders from both Hofstra University and the North Shore-LIJ Health System had been engaged in creating a cutting-edge, scientifically rigorous, patient-centered medical school curriculum. These teams, led by Dr. Smith and his senior administrative team, created the documents, curriculum and guidelines that made up the self-study report, a 3,000 page document.

On Friday, June 4, the New York State Education Department's Division of Professional Education gave final approval of the medical school's educational program. Previously, at their April board meeting, the Regents of the State of New York granted the University the right to confer the MD degree. These two approvals provide the final authorization necessary to enroll an initial class.

The University also received approval from the State Education Department for its PhD program in molecular medicine. The School of Medicine will offer a joint admission MD/PhD program starting in the fall of 2011.

The School of Medicine formally opened the new academic facility on June 8. The existing building, located on Hofstra University's campus, is a 47,000 square foot structure, which had been known as Weeb Ewbank Hall and had served as the New York Jets (NFL) administrative offices and training headquarters since the late 1960s. A $12.5 million New York State grant will fund a major renovation to convert the building into a state-of-the-art medical school building, equipped with a large lecture hall that can fit more than 100 students. The project's architect is HLW and the general contractor was StructureTone.

"What has been especially beneficial for us and for our future students is that we were able to design the building according to our specific academic goals," said Dr. Smith. "We started from scratch, and in partnership with our design and build teams, gutted the facility and built an academic facility from the ground up that worked to serve our pedagogy and our curriculum. In essence, the building was designed with our academic plan in mind."

The new medical school's first floor has four small seminar rooms, with eight additional seminar rooms located on the second floor. Each seminar room accommodates 8-12 students, serving as small meeting area that can be used for classes, group conferences or as study areas. All classrooms are fully equipped with the state-of-the-art presentation technology.

A large anatomy lab equipped with 18 tables and capacity for 100 students has been constructed, and includes a cadaver dissecting room and cold storage center.

In addition to the large scale lecture hall, the new medical school features four large class rooms, conference room space, a large library with private student study space, and administrative and faculty office space.

About Hofstra University

Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution of higher education where more than 12,000 full and part-time students choose from undergraduate and graduate offerings in liberal arts and sciences, business, engineering, communication, education, health and human services, honors studies, and a School of Law. With a small average class size (22 students) and low student-teacher ratio (14 to 1), the University also provides excellent facilities with state-of-the-art technology, extensive library resources and internship programs that match students' interests and abilities with appropriate companies and organizations. The Hofstra community is driven, dynamic and energetic, helping students find and focus their strengths to prepare them for a successful future. Located in Nassau County, New York, on over 240 acres, the University is less than an hour from midtown Manhattan.

About North Shore-LIJ Health System

The nation's third largest, non-profit, secular healthcare system, the North Shore-LIJ Health System cares for people of all ages throughout Long Island, Queens, Manhattan and Staten Island - a service area encompassing more than seven million people. The winner of the National Quality Forum's 2010 National Quality Healthcare Award, the North Shore-LIJ Health System consists of 15 hospitals, 17 long-term care facilities, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, three trauma centers, five home health agencies, a hospice network and dozens of outpatient centers. In addition, North Shore-LIJ is partnering with Hofstra University to develop a new medical school. North Shore-LIJ's owned facilities house about 5,600 beds, employ more than 10,000 nurses and have affiliations with more than 9,000 physicians. Its workforce of about 42,000 is the largest on Long Island and the ninth largest in New York City. For more information, go to www.northshorelij.com.

About the LCME

Accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) establishes eligibility for selected federal grants and programs, including Title VII funding administered by the Public Health Service. Most state boards of licensure require that U.S. medical schools be accredited by the LCME, as a condition for licensure of their graduates. Eligibility of U.S. students to take the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) requires LCME accreditation of their school. Graduates of LCME-accredited schools are eligible for residency programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The Department of Education recognizes the LCME for the accreditation of programs of medical education leading to the M.D. degree in institutions that are themselves accredited by regional accrediting associations. Institutional accreditation assures that medical education takes place in a sufficiently rich environment to foster broad academic purposes.

The U.S. Department of Education recognizes the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) for accreditation of programs of medical education leading to the M.D. in the United States. For Canadian medical education programs, the LCME engages in accreditation in collaboration with the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS). The LCME is recognized as the reliable accreditation authority for M.D. programs by the nation's medical schools and their parent universities. It also is recognized for this purpose by the Congress in various health-related laws, and by state, provincial (Canada), and territorial medical licensing boards.

The 17 members of the LCME are medical educators and administrators, practicing physicians, public members, and medical students. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the Council on Medical Education of the American Medical Association (AMA) each appoint six professional members. The AAMC and AMA each appoint one student member. The LCME itself appoints two public members, and a member is appointed to represent the CACMS.

For digital photos and renderings, go to http://medicine.hofstra.edu/pressphotos

For archived video press conference http://medicine.hofstra.edu/news

SOURCE North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System; Hofstra University