UMass Chan Medical School could add a satellite campus in Burlington
WORCESTER — UMass Chan Medical School could open a second satellite campus, this one in Burlington.
A nonbinding letter of intent, signed by the medical school and Lahey Hospital and Medical Center, would establish a regional campus at LHMC, the medical school announced Thursday.
LHMC is part of the Beth Israel Lahey Health system.
Five years ago, the medical school opened its first regional campus in Springfield, in partnership with Baystate Health.
Archives: UMass Medical partners with Baystate
Students could occupy the Burlington campus in the summer of 2024, if the partnership is approved by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the accrediting body for medical schools in the United States and Canada.
Signoff is also needed from the New England Commission of Higher Education.
“UMass Chan and Lahey share a common vision of training future generations of physicians grounded in evidence-based, patient-centered, multispecialty and interprofessional practice,” said Dr. Michael F. Collins, chancellor of UMass Chan. “We look forward to welcoming Lahey Hospital & Medical Center as one of our outstanding clinical affiliates.”
Besides approval from the two governing bodies, a formal agreement between UMass Chan and Lahey must be reached.
Planning underway
A joint UMass Chan-Lahey task force will start planning to develop programs for the regional campus. The goal is to reach a formal affiliation agreement.
That agreement could establish a new institute for health care delivery science and quantitative science research hub to boost innovation in digital medicine, population health and health care delivery.
The current shortage in Massachusetts of primary care and specialty care physicians is one focus of the Burlington campus.
By 2034, the shortage is expected to be 37,800 and 124,000 nationwide, respectively, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Additional goals of the Burlington campus include increased access for students to an affordable, high-quality medical education. Plus, applying evidence-based care and proven academic research to cut health disparities and improve health care delivery.
Contact Henry Schwan at henry.schwan@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @henrytelegram
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: UMass Beth Israel Lahey medical school Springfield hospital
