Baylor Scott & White Health, the largest nonprofit health system in Texas, announced two academic affiliations on Nov. 17: a new affiliation with the Baylor College of Medicine and an expanded affiliation with long-time partner Texas A&M University. Both alliances are aimed at training future clinicians and developing programs that advance high-quality care and healthcare innovation.
“We believe these long-term partnerships will ensure patients will have access to breakthrough medical discoveries and cutting-edge treatments from world-class physicians for generations to come,” says Peter J. McCanna, president of Baylor Scott & White.
Baylor Scott & White offers the full continuum of care, from primary to award-winning specialty care, through an integrated care delivery network of 52 hospitals and more than 1,100 access points, including flagship academic medical centers in Dallas and Temple. It extends investigational expertise across more than 50 medical specialties through its Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, which provides the business and regulatory infrastructure to accelerate medical breakthroughs and innovative new treatment models. The institute oversees nearly 2,000 active trials each year.
A new Baylor College of Medicine regional medical school campus in Temple
Baylor Scott & White and Baylor College of Medicine announced a new affiliation to enhance the organizations’ collective impact on the statewide effort to train more students to become physicians. Additionally, the affiliation will allow for opportunities for expanded research and program development, with the ultimate goal of improving health and healthcare for Texans.
The new 20-year relationship will be anchored by the development of a progressive four-year regional medical school campus in Temple, where the Baylor College of Medicine will offer a curriculum highlighted by an approach that fully integrates health system and university resources to deliver adaptive and personalized medical education.
“This is a great opportunity to expand Baylor College of Medicine’s outstanding medical education programs to a regional medical school campus,” says Dr. Paul Klotman, president, CEO, and executive dean of Baylor College of Medicine. “We are looking forward to being in Temple.”
Through a holistic recruiting process, Baylor College of Medicine focuses on recruiting a diverse class of students reflective of the communities Baylor Scott & White serves. An inaugural class of 40 medical students is anticipated to begin training in Fall 2023. The campus will increase by 40 students a year over four years. The medical school is excited to welcome 160 more students to experience the caliber of education offered by Baylor College of Medicine.
Baylor College of Medicine will strive to maintain a high percentage of Texas residents in the medical school. The goal of the new affiliation is to further expand the physician workforce pip
eline for Texas — with graduates having the opportunity to serve as future leaders in communities and providing outstanding clinical care for the people of Texas.
The regional medical school campus in Temple will be overseen by the Baylor College of Medicine School of Medicine Dean, and students will be educated by Baylor College of Medicine faculty members. Students will receive training in the state-of-the-art facilities at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Temple. The new medical school campus will expand Baylor College of Medicine’s total enrollment from 186 to 226 students per class.
Expanding the Texas A&M Health Dallas Campus and exploring more programs
Baylor Scott & White and Texas A&M Health announced the next phase of their shared vision through a deepened commitment to medical education and a more robust partnership. Building on a 40-year relationship, both are committed to improving the health and well-being of the people of Texas by working collaboratively to promote discovery, advance knowledge and improve healthcare delivery.
Texas A&M Health has the ability to drive collaboration across the basic and life sciences through a full complement of health disciplines including dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy and public health. By partnering with the rest of Texas A&M University, it also has access to one of the top Tier 1 research universities in the country.
“This collaboration leverages our strengths to develop an innovative healthcare workforce to deliver the next generation of high-value care,” says John Sharp, chancellor of the Texas A&M University System. “I am excited to see this relationship grow and continue to flourish.”
Part of this new, multi-year affiliation will be a major expansion of the Texas A&M Health Dallas campus. Today, more than 200 Texas A&M University College of Medicine students train at Baylor Scott & White Health facilities. Over the next three years, Texas A&M Health and Baylor Scott & White will leverage their strengths to grow the program and provide an exceptional learning environment for more than 300 students. A majority of those students will train at the Dallas campus, making it the largest regional medical campus for Texas A&M. (The Texas A&M College of Medicine also has campuses in Bryan/College Station, Houston, and Austin/Round Rock.)
More than half of Texas A&M College of Medicine graduates stay in Texas for residency. The institutions are confident that the increased number of medical students being trained will produce future generations of physicians providing high-quality care to Texans.
Additionally, the institutions will explore the development of a new physician assistant program, grow the impact and geographic reach across their collective markets, and evaluate growth of educational opportunities in nursing and pharmacy in Bryan/College Station.
For more information, visit BSWHealth.com.
