Medical Faculty wants to expand and strengthen programs

Increasing demand for medical care and education

Each year, the CMU College of Medicine receives thousands of applications from interested students. In 2024, more than 8,000 applicants vied for the 104 spots available the coming year. Across the state and throughout the Midwest, demand for physicians is increasing, especially in rural and historically underserved communities. In keeping with the mission of the College of Medicine, most admitted medical students call Michigan home.

“Seventy-two of Michigan’s 83 counties are currently considered health care workforce shortage areas,” said Dr. George Kikano, dean of the CMU College of Medicine and vice chair for health affairs. “And with more than a third of practicing physicians in Michigan planning to retire within the next decade, the shortage will only get worse without rapid action and investment.”

Given the increasing demand from students and the needs of the community, the college must strengthen and expand its programs to meet its core mission, Kikano said.

An indictment by the CMU trustees

In early 2022, the CMU Board of Trustees formed a Special Committee on Health Care to examine CMU’s current and potential contributions to health care in the state of Michigan and throughout the Great Lakes Bay Region. Later that year, following a report from the committee, trustees approved recommendations to increase the capacity and strengthen the impact of CMU’s health professions and medical education programs.

Following this directive, CMU began discussions with community partners across the region in 2023 to identify growth opportunities. One of the options discussed was a presence in the Medical Diamond Project, a collaborative effort led by the City of Saginaw, Saginaw County, Saginaw Future Inc., the Saginaw Chamber of Commerce and other partners.

In late summer 2023, he, along with President Davies and Dr. Kikano, sent an email to faculty and staff introducing the idea that the university might consider a possible relocation of the medical school to the Medical Diamond in Saginaw.

The need for expansion

“The current medical college facility in Mount Pleasant was built for a cohort size of about 60 students, and we are currently admitting classes of 104 students,” Kikano said.

“Because we have outgrown our premises, our students are spread across different locations. This separation is not an optimal practice and we are losing opportunities for peer-to-peer education and training.”

In addition to medical education in Saginaw, the area is home to several other CMU College of Medicine and CMU Health clinics, buildings and programs. CMU’s medical education building on Stone Street is adjacent to Covenant Hospital and the CMU Women and Children’s Center.

Also in Saginaw is CMU Medical Education Partners, a collaborative organization between CMU, Covenant HealthCare and Ascension St. Mary’s Hospital (soon to be MyMichigan Health), which manages graduate medical education (GME) programs and a growing range of clinical services. GME programs have been in existence in Saginaw since 1947, and today CMU Medical Education Partners graduates more than 170 residents per year in eight accredited specialty programs. Faculty and residents in these programs are critical to the education and mentorship of our medical students.

Due to the need to reconsolidate medical education in one location and considering CMU’s existing presence in the region, the CMU Board of Trustees passed a resolution at its December 2023 meeting requiring the university to begin raising funds to support a consolidation in Saginaw.

Committed to Mount Pleasant

Kikano said that while medical education and training will move to the new building in Saginaw, many important CMU College of Medicine programs will remain in Mount Pleasant.

The space currently occupied by the School of Medicine on campus would also continue to be used, allowing for the expansion and development of new health care education programs, said CMU President Bob Davies.

“With the growing need for health care in our region, we are also looking to expand other health professions programs,” Davies said. “Programs such as physician assistant, nursing, physical therapy, athletic training and others will be able to grow in those areas.”

CMU raises millions to support medical school consolidation

To ensure the successful expansion and consolidation of the medical school in Saginaw, a fundraising goal of $200 million has been established. This goal includes funds for scholarships and research for medical students, as well as support for other health-related programs at CMU.