Yes, it’s true. Marist College and Health Quest are bringing a new medical school to the Hudson Valley. Marist Health Quest School of Medicine is a highly competitive and rigorous program that is on track to start its first day of classes by 2022. The program will teach physician education that transforms patient care and prepares new doctors for today’s technologically advanced healthcare environment.
Plans call for a building of approximately 100,000 square feet on the Vassar Brothers Medical Center campus in Poughkeepsie. Additionally, classes will be held on Marist’s campus for subjects such as anatomy.
Marist Health Quest School of Medicine Building Concept / Photo courtesy of Marist Media Relations
According to the new press release, the school will meet a significant demand for physician education in both the national and regional marketplaces. According to a study by the Association of American Medical Colleges, the U.S. may fall more than 100,000 physicians short of its projected need by 2030. The Marist Health Quest School of Medicine will address the need for more doctors and make it closer to home.
“This region needs more doctors. The population is getting older and many of our existing primary care physicians and specialists are nearing retirement age,” says Greg Rakow, chairman of the Health Quest board of trustees. “The medical school will train a new generation of providers who will make this their home and workplace and pave the way for future generations.”
There are only 151 MD-granting schools of medicine in the U.S., Health Quest and Marist are set to join an exclusive academic, research and clinical community. The regional community will benefit as well. Due to highly accomplished physician faculty attracted to academic medical centers, consumers looking to make healthcare decisions often remain in their market rather than traveling to larger cities. Health Quest’s goal is to meet its social obligation to attract and train primary care and clinical specialists who are crucial to the future of healthcare and patient well-being.
Using Marist’s advanced learning management systems and the addition of Artificial and Augmented Intelligence (AI), the traditional medical school model will be transformed, ultimately changing how medical students, faculty, and patients experience healthcare.
“The unique and collaborative partnership between Marist and Health Quest will push the boundaries of healthcare by focusing on where medicine is going – not where it’s been,” says Dr. Glenn Loomis, Health Quest’s chief medical operations officer and president of Health Quest Medical Practice. “Together, we’re creating a nationally recognized school of medicine to provide technology-enabled medical education.”
The School of Medicine will seek approval from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) – as well as the New York State Education Department and the Middle States Commission on Higher Education for national accreditation. A search for the School of Medicine’s founding Dean and faculty is set to begin immediately. Once fully staffed and accredited, the School of Medicine is going to actively recruit students, with the first class of 60 matriculating in July 2022.
