Toledo, Ohio-based ProMedica and the University of Toledo have signed a letter of intent to enter a 50-year academic affiliation agreement to create a destination academic medical center.
Here are five things to know about the ProMedica and UT's joint plan to build a top academic medical center.
1. The growing physician shortage spurred ProMedica and UT to create a long-term plan. The growing and aging population and the shrinking and aging physician workforce are contributing to an increasing physician shortage that will likely be particularly challenging for mid-size communities like Toledo. To reduce competition with urban areas for physicians, the UT-ProMedica agreement aims to make Toledo a preferred location for medical education and training, and a place for physicians to stay and practice after they complete their education and training. "This affiliation will provide our learners additional clinical learning experiences that are more varied and more local. The result will be more caregivers and more care options for northwest Ohio," Christopher Cooper, MD, dean of the College of Medicine and Life Sciences, said in a statement.
2. The agreement includes funding for University of Toledo Medical Center and additional funds to create a new college of medicine. If the proposal is approved, ProMedica plans to grant $50 million each year to the University of Toledo Medical Center. UTMC will not be affiliated with ProMedica under this agreement. ProMedica will also invest an additional $250 million to establish a new college of medicine.
3. The agreement focuses on education and research. The partnership will significantly increase educational and research opportunities, with a special focus on biomedical research. "There is a pent up demand for research and innovation in this community. Through this academic affiliation, we will have a tremendous opportunity to focus on basic and translational research that will create jobs in this community," ProMedica CMO Lee Hammerling said in a statement. "Creating a robust academic center helps the entire community. A more dynamic academic medical center will help serve as a driver of more community revitalization, economic and business development."
4. ProMedica will continue to host clinical research and training opportunities. ProMedica will offer medical students, residents, fellows and other learners opportunities at ProMedica Toledo Hospital and Toledo Children's Hospital, where it currently hosts most of its clinical research and training opportunities, like the existing 24-month vascular surgery fellowship.
5. UT and ProMedica anticipate finalizing the contract in the next 60 to 90 days. Once the agreement is finalized, the organizations will develop a multi-year transition plan, which will be developed in part by UT faculty and ProMedica clinical leadership.