VCOM View Vol 11 No 1

A fter VCOM’s flagship campus was well- established in Blacksburg Virginia, the College expanded its scope in 2011 with the opening of VCOM-Carolinas in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The addition of a second campus was a huge step towards VCOM’s goal of tackling the broader problem of physician shortages throughout the southeastern United States, with additional campuses eventually added in Auburn, Alabama (2015) and Monroe Louisiana (2020). VCOM’s original plan was to build the first branch campus in bustling, affluent Charlotte, North Carolina. But city leaders in Spartanburg, South Carolina began recruiting VCOM’s interest when they realized the needs of their area aligned with the Mission of the College. Spartanburg Regional Hospital administration contended that, although an unusual choice, Spartanburg was an ideal location for a medical school owing to the city’s medically underserved status and the unique opportunity it would offer the College to participate in the revitalization of a very challenged neighborhood, Spartanburg’s Northside. Unemployment, extreme poverty,

In 2001, Virginia was in the grip of a profound healthcare crisis, with critical

gang activity, foreclosures, skyrocketing crime, teen pregnancy, drug abuse, prostitution, homelessness and widespread abandoned and run-down properties had plagued the neighborhood for decades when it suffered the loss of 1,200 jobs thanks to the shuttering of the old Spartan Mill in 2001. The Northside took additional hits in each subsequent economic downturn, especially in 2008. With the founding of VCOM’s Carolinas campus, Spartanburg’s Northside Initiative was launched in 2011 to address these issues together and spark a turning point in the neighborhood. Ten Years Later On March 1, 2021, the new Northside Clinic opened, across the street from the VCOM-Carolinas campus. The ribbon was cut on the newly completed building by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, and the ceremony was also attended by State Senator Josh Kimbrell. A joint effort between VCOM and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), the clinic was initially opened to offer COVID-19 vaccinations to the community.

physician shortages and medically underserved areas in many counties, especially in the southern and southwestern areas of the state. VCOM was founded that year to address this discrepancy. Fast forward to 2021, and VCOM is the second largest medical school in the United States.

winter 2021 | VCOM V iew M agazine 13