In front of more than 400 faculty, staff, board members, students and other officials, Baptist Health Sciences University (BHSU) celebrated the completion of $34 million in renovations for its new college of osteopathic medicine with a ribbon cutting on Saturday, April 6. The school also held its first Accepted Students Weekend to coincide with the event.
More than 50 students who will start classes in the fall attended the Accepted Students Weekend. Family members and friends accompanied them to offer support as they prepare to embark on their academic journey in a new city. They enjoyed a special guided tour, designed to help familiarize students with the surroundings of their new school.
BHSU College of Osteopathic Medicine (BUCOM) will be the first school for doctors of osteopathic medicine in Memphis and West Tennessee. It is housed in a 100,000-square-foot building in Memphis’ medical district. The space underwent major renovations from March 2023 through April 2024. The high-tech, modern facility is now available to staff and faculty and will open to the school’s first class of students in August 2024.
“This is an exciting day for Baptist Health Sciences University and the Mid-South. The addition of a second medical school in Memphis is a historic achievement and will go a long way in helping to meet the need for more physicians in our region, which will help increase access to quality health care,” said BHSU President Hampton Hopkins, Ed.D.
Speakers at the event included President Hopkins, President and CEO Jason Little, BHSU Board of Directors Chair Beverly Jordan, BHSU Director of Faith and Service Chaplain Karen Smith, Vice Provost and Dean of Medical Education for BUCOM Dr. Peter Bell and one of the school’s accepted students, David Jones. After the ribbon cutting, visitors enjoyed tours of the school.
The new building includes the latest technology and amenities popular among medical schools and features an anatomy lab with capacity for 30 anatomy tables; advanced simulation and display equipment, including digital Sectra tables for virtual dissection and matrix-style audio-visual capabilities that broadcast to any device or display throughout the building; an osteopathic manipulative medicine lab; four simulation rooms with high-fidelity patients; and 16 standardized patient rooms where students can interact with actors who simulate clinical scenarios.
“It has been my honor to contribute to the design and development of BHSU College of Osteopathic Medicine. I’m grateful for Baptist’s investment in this school and the future of medicine in the Mid-South,” said Dr. Bell. “BHSU College of Osteopathic Medicine will help produce highly trained medical professionals who can help fill the gap for primary care and other medical specialties in the area. Like the rest of the U.S., the Mid-South is facing a shortage of primary care and family medicine doctors, and I am proud to join Baptist in offering a solution that will help increase access to quality care in our region.”
