Proposed College Of Osteopathic Medicine Delayed Until 2013
By: Stephen Crews
Updated: March 17, 2011
Since May 2010, Southeast Alabama Medical Center has
been working closely with the Commission on Osteopathic College
Accreditation (COCA), the national accrediting
body for osteopathic colleges, to earn accreditation for Dothan’s new
medical college. With an aggressive timeline, anticipation was to
receive pre-accreditation in time to begin construction this year and to
open the proposed Alabama College of Osteopathic
Medicine (ACOM) in the fall of 2012.
“We recently learned from COCA that under their accreditation standards they classified ACOM as a private entity, instead of a public (or state-funded) entity. We are currently revising our application to satisfy this definition and expect to have a solution in the coming weeks,” said Ronald S. Owen, Southeast Alabama Medical Center CEO.
This decision by COCA results in a one-year delay and puts the proposed college on schedule to accept its first class in August 2013. The college is an enormous boon for the region reflecting a $111.9 million boost to the local economy, $26 million in increased retail spending,
$1.3 million in additional tax revenue, and more than 400 new jobs.
