Medical school planned for Henderson

Friday, March 26, 2004 | 11:24 a.m.

Officials of a new medical school planned for Henderson said they intend to provide a much-needed infusion of new physicians into Southern Nevada as well as more diverse health care options for residents.

The Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine-Nevada will open a $6 million campus this fall at 874 American Pacific Drive. The 69,000-square-foot campus will start with 75 medical students and 30 physician assistant students. Officials from the school and the city of Henderson will make an official announcement Monday.

"This is a rapidly growing community with a significant active geriatric population," said Mitchell Forman, dean of the new Henderson medical school and a doctor of osteopathy. "The best thing we can offer Nevada is to create more primary care physicians who stay here."

To that end, Touro intends to have its students do their internships at local hospitals rather than go out of state as is the norm at many major medical schools.

"One of the strengths of this area is that there are so many new hospitals opening," Forman said. "That will help us find appropriate clinical settings for our students to do their training, and help (the students) put down even deeper roots in the community."

Nevada ranked 48th in the nation in 2002 for its physician-patient ratio, said Larry Matheis, executive director of the Nevada State Medical Association.

Nevada's medical malpractice insurance crisis sent some physicians into early retirement or in search of more favorable working conditions in other states. Having another medical school in the state will increase the chances for Nevada to "grow its own" replacement crop of new doctors, Matheis said.

"(Touro) is potentially very good news for all of us," Matheis said.

Students at osteopathic schools complete the same basic four-year medical education as students at "allopathic" medical schools, which confer the M.D. degree. While many osteopathic medical students opt for careers in primary care they are qualified to enroll in the same advanced speciality training programs as their M.D. counterparts.

Where osteopathy differs is in the overall approach to the patient and some of the treatment techniques, said Denise Selleck-Davis, executive director of the Nevada Osteopathic Medical Association.

"The osteopathic philosophy is treating the whole patient -- mind, body and spirit," Selleck-Davis said. "This school will be a wonderful way of educating the public about the benefits of this approach in preventive and therapeutic care."

Michael Harter, vice dean of the Nevada School of Medicine, said Thursday he has resigned his post to become vice president administration and dean of students at the Henderson medical school.

Harter, whose wife is University of Nevada, Las Vegas President Carol Harter, said his resignation is effective March 31 and the following day he will begin working at Touro.

When first approached in December by officials from Touro -- a New York-based private university with an osteopathic medical school and physicians' assistant program in Vallejo, Calif. -- Harter said he was immediately interested.

"I've always enjoyed my entire career building programs and the opportunity for doing that here ws tremendous," Harter said. "It wasn't a tough sell."

Dr. James Lenhart, chair of the department of family medicine at the Las Vegas campus will replace Harter as vice dean effective April 1.

"He's a marvelous individual and it's a huge loss," Lenhart said of Harter.

Touro will be making an important contribution to the community, Lenhart said.

The University of Nevada School of Medicine is a relatively small program with no immediate plans for expansion, Lenhart noted. Southern Nevada's population boom, coupled with the exodus of physicians unable to pay soaring medical malpractice insurance costs, has left the state without enough doctors to meet the needs of its citizens.

The Henderson campus will also be competition for the state medical school, Lenhart said.

"Competition is good -- we'll be better because of Touro and Touro will be better because of us," Lenhart said. "I hope the leaders of both schools will see the benefits of collegial collaboration."

Stephen McFarlane, dean of the Nevada School of Medicine, Reno was traveling Thursday and could not be reached for comment.

Based on an initial review of Touro's application the school has been authorized to accept students and begin instruction in the fall, said Mike Campea, spokesman for the American Osteopathic Association. A final decision on full accreditation won't be made until after the first class enrolls and a full survey is conducted -- most likely in February 2005, Campea said.

The Touro campus in California is fully accredited. Medical students and graduates of that school, which is now in its seventh year, are currently working at hospitals and clinics in Nevada, Selleck-Davis said.

Nevada has 370 doctors of osteopathic medicine, according to the state association.

One of them, Dale Carrison, is director of the emergency medicine department at University Medical Center, an affiliate of the University of Nevada School of Medicine.

Carrison said the prejudice against "D.O.'s" has essentially disappeared over the past decade as the curriculum at osteopathic and allopathic medical schools have become more closely aligned.

D.O.s are also trained in osteopathic manipulative treatment, OMT, which involves using their hands to evaluate joints, muscles and bones for injury and illness. But it's up to each individual to decide how much -- if any -- of that technique they use, Carrison said.

"The initials after the name aren't as important as whether that person is a lifelong learner, if they read constantly to keep with the latest innovations, are they caring and attentive to their patients," Carrison said. "If you're a good doctor people will recognize that."

In addition to providing future doctors the new medical school will have additional benefits for the community, said Bob Cooper, economic development manager for the city of Henderson.

The school will create new jobs, including high-paying faculty positions, Cooper said. The school also helps further Henderson's long-range goal of attracting private colleges and universities to the city, Cooper said.

"We've been on this path since 2000," Cooper said. "Private sector schools are one of our target industries."

In the long run Henderson officials hope to see Touro expand its campus to include research and development, which in term could mean economic development opportunities for the city, Cooper said.

"We're delighted Touro has found a home in Henderson and we're looking forward to a strong relationship," he said.