Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University earns important approvals from LCME and State Board of Education

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Oct 03, 2012, 03:00 ET

HAMDEN, Conn., Oct. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University earned two important endorsements this week as it moves closer to offering its first classes to students who aspire to become primary care physicians.

The Liaison Committee on Medical Education granted the medical school preliminary accreditation and the Connecticut State Board of Education approved the university's medical degree program, clearing the way for the School of Medicine to begin recruiting its first class for the Fall of 2013.

Quinnipiac President John L. Lahey said, "Adding a medical school to Quinnipiac's existing schools of law, health sciences, nursing, communications, education, business and engineering and College of Arts and Sciences will continue Quinnipiac's transformation into a major national university. When the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine enrolls its first medical students in the Fall of 2013, Quinnipiac will join fewer than 100 universities in America that have both law and medical schools."

Dr. Bruce Koeppen, founding dean of the medical school, said, "Receiving preliminary accreditation from the LCME and approval by the State Board of Education are important milestones in the development of the School of Medicine. These actions are a testament to the efforts of many individuals who have worked tirelessly to build the school. More important, applicants to our school can be assured that they will receive a high quality medical education that will prepare them for the contemporary practice of medicine."

The medical school, founded to address the nation's pressing need for primary care physicians, is aiming to become a national model of interprofessional health care education and improve the way patient care is delivered. Medical students at Quinnipiac will be part of a learning environment where they will interact with students from Quinnipiac's School of Health Sciences and School of Nursing to learn to become effective members of a primary health care team.

"The analogy is a NASCAR pit crew," Koeppen said. "You have a group of people with very specific talents and knowledge and expertise on the pit crew coming together to take care of the car."

Lahey said, "Quinnipiac will be at the forefront nationally in addressing the critical need for more primary care physicians, especially as health care reform is expected to bring an additional 30 million Americans into the U.S. health care system. A Quinnipiac medical school with a primary care emphasis combined with our existing primary care-focused nurse practitioner and physician assistant programs will make Quinnipiac uniquely positioned to help solve the primary care needs of our country."

The medical school, which will become the third in Connecticut, has already received widespread support from the state's medical community. St. Vincent's Medical Center was named the medical school's primary clinical partner last year. The affiliation with St. Vincent's is especially important because it establishes a medical school-hospital affiliation in the state's largest city whose residents will have more access to health care as a result of the collaboration.

"LCME accreditation marks another important milestone for the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University," said St. Vincent's Medical Center President Stuart G. Marcus, M.D. "As the medical school's primary clinical partner, the faculty members at St. Vincent's are looking forward to educating students in the clinical sciences and teaching them the principles of safe, reliable patient care of the highest quality."

The medical school also has affiliations with MidState Medical Center in Meriden and Middlesex Hospital in Middletown.

The first class at the medical school will have 60 students. That number is expected to grow to 125 students per class by 2017.

The Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine is named in honor of the noted surgeon and world's most prolific medical illustrator. A major gift from Barbara and the late Edward Netter makes possible this tribute to Edward's first cousin. Beginning in the late 1930s, Dr. Frank Netter began illustrating the entire anatomic and pathologic character of the human body, system by system.

Quinnipiac is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution located 90 minutes north of New York City and two hours from Boston. The university enrolls 6,200 full-time undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students in 58 undergraduate and more than 20 graduate programs of study in its School of Business and Engineering, School of Communications, School of Education, School of Health Sciences, School of Law, Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, School of Nursing and College of Arts and Sciences. Quinnipiac consistently ranks among the top regional universities in the North in U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges issue. The 2013 issue of U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges named Quinnipiac as the top up-and-coming school with master's programs in the Northern Region. Quinnipiac also is recognized in Princeton Review's "The Best 377 Colleges." For more information, please visit www.quinnipiac.edu. Connect with Quinnipiac on Facebook at www.facebook.com/quinnipiacuniversity and follow Quinnipiac on Twitter @QuinnipiacU.