VCOM 2021 Annual Report

The Harvey W. Peters Research Foundation Expands Its Educational Consortium T he Harvey W. Peters Research Foundation

Appalachian College of Pharmacy On June 30, 2020, the Appalachian College of Pharmacy (ACP) and the Foundation finalized their agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, the Harvey W. Peters Research Foundation will provide funds to ACP to establish a new Doctor of Public Health program and two other new programs, as well as build a new laboratory at Oakwood. Over the past year, ACP’S accrediting bodies, the Accreditation Committee for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), the Southern Association of Colleges and Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) and the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), have approved the agreement. Appalachian College of Pharmacy has a traditional pharmacy school program, which has been condensed into three years by having its students attend summer sessions in order to save them significant time and expense. ACP currently offers Virginia’s only three-year Doctor of Pharmacy program. Bluefield College (now Bluefield University) On January 12, 2021, Bluefield University president David Olive, JD, and the Bluefield University Board of Trustees set the stage for the next 100 years with a significant decision to join the Harvey W. Peters Research Foundation educational consortium. Approvals for the agreement were granted by the accrediting body for Bluefield University, the Southern Association of Colleges and Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). In addition to Bluefield University’s collaboration with VCOM for the Master of Arts in Biomedical Sciences (MABS) degree program, the college offers both RN and BSN degrees in its Nursing progam. “In order for us to expand in healthcare, it is important to have partners like Bluefield University, who we already partner with, in our Master of Arts in Biomedical Sciences (MABS) degree program,” said John Rocovich Jr, LLM. ■

has announced that Bluefield University and the Appalachian College of Pharmacy have received approval from their accrediting bodies to finalize the process of becoming part of the Foundation’s educational consortium. The two colleges will join the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) as sister institutions under the Foundation. This alignment will further support each organization’s shared mission—to bring quality healthcare to the Appalachian region’s underserved populations by developing resources of the highest quality for patients who reside there. This alliance will also allow for increased learning opportunities and interprofessional education options for the students from each school. By facilitating increased collaboration, these institutions will strengthen the framework by which healthcare will be provided in the future. Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine A fter researching the physician shortage in the United States and seeing how significant the shortage was in rural and medically underserved areas like southwest Virginia, the Harvey W. Peters Research Foundation established the first Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, founded in 2001, with its first class of medical students starting in 2003. Physician shortages in the Appalachian and Delta regions, along with rising student application rates, have led to the addition of added campuses in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Auburn, Alabama and, most recently, Monroe, Louisiana. Partnerships with state and local government, as well as associated higher education institutions, have been key to this effort.

20