CHM examines facilities in Flint

---

Tweet

MSU’s medical presence across Michigan continues to evolve with recent happenings in Flint and Kalamazoo.

College of Human Medicine, or CHM, officials currently are examining facilities in Flint for the college to expand and are preparing to cut ties with their Kalamazoo operations.

Aron Sousa, senior associate dean for academic affairs with the CHM, said as an official at a community-based school, health educators train people in the places they hope they’ll practice.

The college is considering using the former Flint Journal building to further this goal, but other locations remain a possibility for the college’s expansion in the area, he said.

CHM officials announced they received a $2.8 million grant in December 2011 from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.

On the other side of the state, the Michigan State University Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies, or MSU/KCMS, will merge with Western Michigan University’s new medical school this summer, but CHM officials plan to terminate their training of students there, most likely when WMU has its inaugural class of medical students in fall 2014 — although that date is not yet finalized, Sousa said.

“(MSU/KCMS) has been sort of the site and home of our clinical teaching in Kalamazoo for 39 years,” Sousa said, adding about 25 students currently train at the facility with at least 700 students trained during its history.

In comparison, more than 300 students are involved in training programs in three Flint-area hospitals.

Jeffrey Dwyer, associate dean for research and community engagement at CHM, said that investment from the Mott Foundation in Flint allows university officials to work on obtaining space within the city.

The establishment of medical campuses in Traverse City, Mich., in 2008 and Midland, Mich., in 2010 shows MSU’s commitment to the state, Sousa said.

“(We’ve) provided an outstanding education and provide these clinical experiences in different communities,” Dwyer said.

Accounting senior Bobby Melnik said he plans to apply to medical schools, with MSU being No. 1 on his list, and residing in Michigan to practice would be an option worth considering.

“It’s a big deal because you can also support the local economy by staying in Michigan,” he said.

College officials also recently announced a $12 million purchase of the former Grand Rapids Press headquarters to possibly provide research space for the Secchia Center.

And this Thursday, state officials are expected to announce the status of $30 million in funding for MSU to construct the $40 million Bio Engineering Facility, which would be located near the Life Sciences Building and Clinical Center on south campus. This building is intended to accommodate needed research space in East Lansing.

---