UT, ProMedica extend academic partnership, announce scholarship fund

July 27, 2011 | News, UToday
By Tim Langhorst



ahc_logo_5c_spot-copyOne year ago, ProMedica and The University of Toledo established the Academic Health Center, a relationship intended to enhance clinical education and research in the community and help ensure that a new generation of health-care professionals will be ready to care for community members in the decades ahead.

The relationship between the two organizations continues to strengthen. In fact, The University of Toledo and ProMedica have extended the contractual relationship. After completion of the original agreement in 2016, the agreement automatically will renew for successive three-year terms.

“Extending the contract so that it will automatically renew is an indication of the level of commitment ProMedica and UT have to the success of the Academic Health Center,” said Olivia Summons, chair of the Academic Health Center Corp. Board of Trustees. “It speaks volumes as to how far the relationship between ProMedica and The University of Toledo College of Medicine has come in just the last year.”

To further emphasize the focus on keeping talented caregivers in the community, ProMedica and The University of Toledo have established the Better Together Scholarship Fund.

The purpose of this fund is to promote and improve retention and recruitment of health-care providers in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan by providing financial assistance to physicians of demonstrated ability who desire to further their education and training at The University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences.

ProMedica will create this fund with an initial $500,000 gift, with a goal by the two organizations to raise an additional $4.5 million.

Two scholarships will be awarded each year, increasing to eight scholarships over time.

“This relationship, though very positive for each organization individually and collectively, is truly all about putting the needs of the community first,” said Randy Oostra, president and chief executive officer of ProMedica. “The Better Together Scholarship Fund represents a very real investment in this community by both organizations to recruit and retain the best and brightest individuals who are preparing for a career in health care.”

The Academic Health Center has made significant progress in its first year.

“ProMedica and The University of Toledo have been focused on creating and enhancing relationships within education and research that will strengthen both organizations,” said Dr. Jeffrey P. Gold, UT chancellor, executive vice president for biosciences and health affairs, and dean of the College of Medicine and Life Sciences. “These efforts are leading the development of a richer, more vibrant and robust health-care community that will result in increased clinical excellence throughout the region.”

A few major highlights from the first year of the Academic Health Center include:

• By 2016, there will be a total of 63 residency rotations by UT learners at ProMedica, with the addition of 29 new residency rotations and 26 expanded rotations. The number grew from 17 rotations last year to 31 in the current academic year.

• UT learners are significantly expanding their educational experience at ProMedica facilities. New rotations have been developed and implemented in anesthesiology, emergency medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, medical oncology, and ear, nose and throat. In addition, the Academic Health Center is evaluating opportunities in vascular, cardiovascular, pulmonary/critical care, and pharmacy, among others.

• Relationships are expanding in all areas managed by the Academic Health Center; these include undergraduate medical education, nursing, allied health, pharmacy, library and information technology.

• In clinical research, since July 2010, 60 new clinical trial agreements were signed involving hundreds of patients. Twenty-six of these are cross-institutional, cooperative trials.

• In addition, 14 qualified letters of intent were received for Translational Research Stimulation Awards. Six were selected for full proposals, all of which are collaborative projects involving UT and ProMedica investigators and will be funded as collaborative research studies in clinical care.

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