The George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) and LifeBridge Health have signed an agreement to establish a new Regional Medical Campus (RMC) for the school’s medical program.
The new RMC will be based at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore and will house a cohort ofthird- and fourth-year medical students who chose to spend their clinical years there. The new campus will provide medical students at GW with the opportunity to train in a community-oriented healthcare system with a strong emphasis on primary and continuity care in a population health environment. Relationships developed during their clinical training as students can lead to further education in LifeBridge Health graduate medical education programs or as future LifeBridge Health physicians.
LifeBridge Health is ready to receive a first cohort of third-year students in the spring of 2023.
“This is an exciting new chapter for the GW SMHS MD program – and we are thrilled to partner with LifeBridge Health to expand our presence outside of DC and establish guaranteed access to clinical training for a cohort of our students in an environment that is different than the main campus experience and complementary to the clinical focus on public health of the SMHS program,” said SMHS Dean Barbara L. Bass, who is also a professor of surgery, tenured of the Bloedorn Chair of Administrative Medicine, Vice President of Health Affairs and CEO of The GW Associates of the School of Medicine.
“We have been using Sinai Hospital as a clinical rotation site for several years,” Bass said. “Our students received excellent clinical training and highly valued their educational experiences. The new RMC will establish a long-term relationship between GW and LifeBridge Health and we hope will foster additional strategic partnerships, research collaborations and training opportunities for other GW learners.
According to the American Association of Medical Colleges, a regional medical campus is a location distinct and separate from the central campus of a medical school where students spend one or more years of their training. This new campus will allow a cohort of 30 third-year and 30 fourth-year GW medical students to complete the first two years of classroom didactic training in Washington, D.C., at GW’s Foggy Bottom campus, followed by a full year of internship. in the third year and specialty electives in the fourth year at Sinai Hospital and LifeBridge Health System sites.
“At LifeBridge Health, these medical students will be able to take advantage of the cutting-edge innovation and unique learning experiences we can offer within our community-driven, multi-faceted healthcare system,” said Neil Meltzer, President. and CEO, LifeBridge Health. “We look forward to welcoming the first cohort of GW students to LifeBridge Health and expanding the relationship we have with the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.”
The Regional Medical Campus will be accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education through the SMHS Main Campus Physician Program Accreditation. Additionally, formal administrative and educational ties to the main campus will remain intact, and students will continue to have access to all Foggy Bottom campus resources. LifeBridge Health GW SMHS Regional Medical Campus faculty will receive SMHS faculty appointments.
“LifeBridge Health, and Sinai Hospital in particular, has a proud history in medical education with dozens of medical residents actively working and training here each year,” said Matthew Poffenroth, senior vice president, director CEO of LifeBridge Health and President of LifeBridge Health. Medical group. “With the Regional Medical Campus, we look forward to building on this academic foundation with a committed academic partner and leveraging the benefits of a teaching environment, such as an enhanced environment for innovation and collaboration, to enable us to to bring more cutting-edge research and other offerings to benefit our patients and communities.
