NEOMED, UH forge partnership to increase training

Northeast Ohio Medical University and University Hospitals in Cleveland recently announced plans to have up to 24 third-year students from NEOMED’s College of Medicine perform their clinical rotations at UH Cleveland Medical Center.

Each year, several community medical centers will also benefit from the partnership.

The collaboration aligns with goals of both institutions to train more “talented” physicians to serve the health care needs of the diverse population of Northeast Ohio.

NEOMED’s average enrollment is 600 medicine students.

While many of them are from Ohio more than half remain in Ohio’s Northeast region of Cleveland-Akron-Canton-Youngstown to practice each year, there’s much room for growth, officials noted.

“I am incredibly excited to have forged this partnership with University Hospitals, a powerhouse academic health system,” said Dr. John T. Langell, president of NEOMED. “As the only public university in Northeast Ohio that trains physicians with a doctor of medicine degree, this partnership improves NEOMED’s ability to fulfill our mission to serve Northeast Ohio, where it is already likely that your doctor is NEOMEDtrained.

“But as we are located at the epicenter of our country’s greatest medical hub a short distance from many of the nation’s best hospitals, we’re striving to educate even more physicians who choose to stay and serve patients in Cleveland,” Langell added.

According to NEOMED and UH, as a result of similar partnerships, more than 1,500 graduates from NEOMED are currently practicing in Northeast Ohio, including Akron Children’s Hospital, Cleveland Clinic Akron General, MetroHealth Medical Center and St. Vincent Charity Medical Center.

The university has other partnerships in Cleveland, but this is the first commitment of this size from a clinical partner in Cleveland, officials confirmed.

The hospital system, which also has other partners, including a 125-year relationship with Case Western Reserve University, recently signed an agreement to extend its collaboration with CWRU, allowing each to partner with others across Northeast Ohio in efforts to create new opportunities for region-wide progress.

University Hospitals will continue its pre-clinical training for first- and second-year students, as well as core and elective clerkships for third- and fourthyear CWRU students at current levels. The NEOMED program serves to expand the impact of UH’s academic mission.

“Developing the next generation of physicians to heal our communities is an essential pillar of our University Hospitals three-part mission: To Heal. To Teach. To Discover,” said UH CEO Dr. Cliff Megerian. “Our relationship with NEOMED exposes their students to UH physicians who are distinguished in their fields and deeply committed to sharing their knowledge of the most advanced medical treatments and procedures.”

According to officials, with NEOMED’s Cleveland offices located at 2112 Euclid Ave., the university has “gone all in on its promise to accomplish the goals of its new strategic plan, which also include increasing its number of black and Latinx students enrolled in its medical degree programs,” as well collaborating with others to bring positive change to issues regarding the social determinants of health.