Thursday, May 15, 2014
Thu, 15 May 2014 | Christopher Breedlove | LUCOM
Construction is nearly complete on Liberty University’s Center for Medical and Health Sciences, started 18 months ago. The new center which houses the College of Osteopathic Medicine (opening August 2014) and components of the School of Health Sciences sits atop Liberty’s scenic mountain property in Campbell County with a breathtaking view of the Blue Ridge Mountains across the valley. The university has obtained a temporary occupancy status allowing faculty and administrative staff to begin their move into their new facilities during the week of May 12-16. Full occupancy is expected in July.
The new center is comprised of 140,000-square-feet and is the most technologically advanced facility on campus. Medical education provided by the faculty will take place in facilities including: a state-of-the-art Center for Standardized Patient and Simulation; a spacious and comprehensively equipped research facility; and an extensive Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) advanced technological space for teaching clinical procedures, medical knowledge application, and skills development within Clinical Medicine and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine. A modern Anatomy Lab provides for cadaveric dissection, as well as, research, competency development, and surgical training. Two auditoriums with a capacity of 203 seats each are available to the faculty and student body, for both interactive learning and lecture presentation. Additional areas found in the new facility are offices sufficient for the College of Osteopathic Medicine (COM) and Master of Public Health (MPH) faculty and staff, extensive conference rooms, and more than a dozen fully equipped small group classrooms, as well as, lounges and social facilities for students, faculty, and staff.
“Our founder, Jerry Falwell, Sr., often said, ‘if it’s Christian, it ought to be better.’ This new Center for Medical and Health Sciences is a testament to his vision of making Liberty a state-of-the-art, contributing institution,” said Ronnie B. Martin, D.O., founding dean of LUCOM. “The contracted faculty are experienced, respected experts within their fields and the resources of the COM are beyond parallel.”
Continuing steadfast into its first year, LUCOM has the resources and is poised to become a principle training ground for osteopathic physicians for Southern Virginia and across the globe.
Pleased with the progress of the new Center for Medical and Health Sciences, Dr. Martin also said, “From the first day of our discussions with University leadership and through the planned actions required for establishing a new medical center, I am honored and feel blessed with the amount of support we have received from the board, administration, and the professional community within Liberty and Virginia. I truly believe we are on track to fulfill our role in meeting the vision of our founder and become a positive, significant asset in meeting the needs of the community and region promoting access to health care and advancing the quality of health care available to our patients.”
Additional information and facility resources within the Center for Medical and Health Sciences are available here.