Go to school, stay to practice: EKU’s Brad Hall talks long game of osteopath program
Plans for the state’s first osteopathic medical program at a public institution are underway at Eastern Kentucky University, aimed at creating a massive draw for Kentucky residents to become doctors in their home state.
“And hopefully stay here to practice …” said Brad Hall, EKU’s chief medical and strategic partnerships officer. He said EKU President David T. McFaddin has been working on the goal since before Hall arrived on campus.
“That’s what I came on board to do (in 2024) – lead this whole new medical school operation from the ground up,” he added.
A native of Harlan County in Eastern Kentucky, Hall said, “Growing up there, I saw the need as I continued through college …” at the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg. “I had a family, and I came back and worked there for 13 years, building the health professions program.”
Most of his career – over the last 30 years – has been focused on rural healthcare, so “it’s become my passion and my career.”
When Hall worked at the University of the Cumberlands, he partnered closely with the Southern Kentucky Area Health Education Center network, where he also served as an advisory board member. “We were trying to get rural kids into the programs.”
It’s only just begun
EKU is working to create the Center for Health Innovation, which will become a shared campus hub that brings all 3,000 students majoring in health-related programs into one building. The plan is to house the already established programs of nursing, occupational therapy, medical lab science, public health, psychology and emergency medical care in the same facility as the new college of osteopathic medicine.
Hall said the next step is securing funding for the medical school, or “getting ready for the Kentucky General Assembly, creating the message and doing the research.”
The legislature already has followed the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education’s recommendation and allocated $50 million to EKU for the new college. Eight million of that is for initial operating expenses, and $42 million will be set aside, as required by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA), in an escrow account.
Hall said the escrow account is part of a “teach-out” agreement. “Basically, it’s to ensure if something were to happen, you can still teach out any students you’ve admitted. So, from the get-go, the students are set up for success regardless.”
The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education said EKU will require an additional $330 million to construct the facility that will house its new medical school.
Hall said the accreditation process for becoming an osteopathic school is a lengthy one. The college must comply with state postsecondary regulations and laws, as well as COCA standards.
“COCA has extremely strict standards … and the way they work, the process – you have to go through stages.” Two associate deans must be hired who are required to put together the curriculum, policies and procedures, and that “is when it really becomes a real entity,” Hall said.
The biggest misconception
In all, the process will take three to four years. “You can’t speed it up,” he said.
As far as the osteopathic approach, Hall said there are some major misconceptions.
“The way I explain it – both medical doctors and osteopathic doctors, both are qualified physicians. Both are able to practice medicine in anything they choose – they can be heart or brain surgeons, family practice, neurosurgeons, oncologists.”
He likens it to when someone visits the dentist. “Do you look on their dentist door to see if they’re a DMD or DDS?” which stands for doctor of dental surgery or doctor of dental medicine. “When you go to the doctor, you should have the same mindset.”
And actually, Hall said osteopathic doctors even have a little extra musculoskeletal training.
The American Medical Association says MDs (Doctors of Medicine) and DOs (Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine)have equivalent training, practice and rights, but osteopathic medicine has a different approach, focusing on the whole-person, rather than isolating a disease to treat specific symptoms. The focus on intensive musculoskeletal training is mandatory for DOs.
“The last three presidential physicians have all been (DOs) as well,” Hall said.
In the fall of this year, EKU will pursue applicant status, then begin working on a solid timeline, as well as begin interviews for a dean.
“Then we’re off to the races,” Hall said.
Thinking ahead
Last year, Hall was picked as one of 26 in the nation, and the only Kentuckian, for the Graduate Medical Education Development Fellowship. Run by the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, the fellowship allows him to gather every month with national experts about how to set up residency programs in rural settings.
“We’re leaning against that – if you train residents in rural areas, they’re more likely to stay,” he said. “It’s 60-70 miles from where they were a resident, is what the data shows where they’ll stay to practice. We get them into school, build residency programs with collaborations in the community, and exponentially increase that they stay home to practice.”
When asked about tuition, Hall said, “We’ve not gotten so far with tuition. We want to make it as affordable–as a state and public institution– as we can.”
He said there are different opportunities through the National Health Service Corps (NHSC), a federal program through the Health Resources and Services Administration. NHSC offers a scholarship program in exchange for practicing in a health professional shortage area.
“And employers will also help offset school payments,” he said. “It’s a great investment with a huge return, in my humble opinion.”
Bobbie Curd is a freelance journalist based in Danville, Kentucky. Her stories appear in a variety of area publications, and her experience includes reporting and editing duties at both daily and weekly newspapers. This story is part of a package about health care issues in Eastern Kentucky produced with a grant from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.