Strengthening Our Collaborations

While this is a time of transitions at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, it is also an opportunity for us to strengthen the collaborations that make us a unique and vital institution. Dr. Patrick Delafontaine resigned as dean in April of 2019 to return to Tulane School of Medicine, and I became interim dean. Although a new job for me, I am not new to MU, having spent 35 year as a faculty member in the Department of Family and Community Medicine with the last 11 years as chair. In fact, when I had the privilege of distributing diplomas to our 94 graduates in May, I crossed that same stage in Jesse Hall exactly 40 years before as a member of the MU School of Medicine class of 1979.

When stepping into a new role, we build on a foundation created by those who came before us. Soon before my appointment, Rick Fraunfelder, MD, who also serves as chair of the Department of Ophthalmology, took over from the retiring Michael Misfeldt, PhD, who spent more than 20 years as dean for faculty affairs. Similarly, Bill Fay, MD, succeeded the retiring Jerry Parker, PhD, as dean for research. The dean’s office is also strengthened by Vic Arnold, chief financial officer, and the newly appointed Pam Mulholland as chief administrative officer.

Changes in leadership also create an opportunity for us to renew our collaborations within our system and across the state. To successfully grow an academic health system, we need to strengthen both our internal and external collaborations. Under the leadership of the four campus UM System President Mun Choi, MU Chancellor Alexander Cartwright, and Provost Latha Ramchand, we are building new connections. The MU campus is establishing a new resource allocation model which will create a more reliable and accountable funding structure for each of its schools and colleges. The NextGen Precision Health Initiative is a four-campus enterprise (including University of Missouri-Kansas City, University of Missouri-St. Louis and University of Missouri Science and Technology) to advance research collaborations and health outcomes in the areas of neurosciences, cancer and vascular disease. We held the groundbreaking ceremony on the NextGen Precision Health Institute in June, which is being constructed next to the medical school and hospital complex in Columbia. This is the largest investment ever by the UM System to advance research and innovation.

Medical Students at the new Springfield Clinical Campus.

We are also strengthening our collaborations with MU Health Care. Under the leadership of CEO Jonathan Curtright, MU Health Care has grown financially and in the scope of services provided. The bond between MU Health Care, the MU School of Medicine and the University Physicians practice plan is only growing stronger. University Physicians, led by Vic Arnold and Dr. Ted Choma, UP Chair, recently had its most successful year with over $220 million in revenue. The hard work of our physicians and staff is augmented by stronger mutual commitments to enhancing health care quality and patient safety, while growing collaborations in human resource management, space allocation, communications and philanthropy. This spring, we have begun a strategic planning process that includes not only these entities but also leaders from the MU Sinclair School of Nursing in Dean Sara Thompson and School of Health Professions in Dean Kris Hagglund, as well as colleagues from across the MU campus.

2019 MU School of Medicine Commencement.

Finally, we are also working across the state to advance our mission: to improve the health of all people, especially Missourians, through exemplary education, research, and patient-centered care. This year, we sent 28 students to our Springfield Clinical Campus to complete the final two years of their medical school education. Mark Costley, MD, as our interim associate dean for that campus, has done fantastic work in assisting in the recruitment of more than 260 volunteer physician faculty members with the help of our partners CoxHealth and Mercy hospitals. This year, our 28 M3s at the Springfield Clinical Campus is the largest cohort date. They are joined by 11 M4s in Springfield. Recognizing the need for more rural primary care physicians, the Department of Family and Community Medicine, MU Health Care, and Bothwell Regional Health Center are working to create a rural training track family medicine residency program based in Sedalia.

NextGen Precision Health Institute.

We will advance our MU School of Medicine vision to be a transformational leader in improving health by enhancing existing and building new collaborations. We will look toward these partnerships and future ones to grow our commitment to education, research and patient-centered care in serving the people of Missouri and beyond.