Eastern Virginia Medical School

Infobox University
name= Eastern Virginia Medical School


established= 1973
type= Public / Private university
endowment= US $34.9 million
president= Harry T. Lester
students= 779
undergrad=27
postgrad=298
doctoral=454
city= Norfolk
state= Virginia
country= US
campus= Urban, convert|500|acre|km2|2|lk=on
website= [http://www.evms.edu/ www.evms.edu]

[http://www.evms.edu Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS)] , in Norfolk, Virginia is a public-private medical school founded by the collective "Seven Cities" of Hampton Roads, Virginia. Its campus includes the 555-bed Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, the region's main tertiary medical care facility, and the 212-bed Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters, a regional pediatric referral care facility. Reproductive medicine and research in pediatrics, geriatrics, diabetes, and cancer are among the areas where EVMS excels.

History

In the 1960s the area of Southeastern Virginia known as Hampton Roads (historically "Tidewater") recognized that the region did not have enough physicians to support its growing population. In an attempt to close the gap, area leaders decided to found a regional medical school, to both attract physicians from outside areas and to produce "home-grown" practitioners. It was thought that a University medical center operating in conjunction with previously operating regional health care facilities would effectively end the shortage and more importantly, bring a bevy of experts and specialists to the area. The idea gained the support of the Virginia General Assembly and the city councils of Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Virginia Beach. In 1964, the General Assembly authorized the formation of what was then known as the Norfolk Area Medical Center Authority.

In 1970 fundraising by the EVMS foundation began the collection of funds for the creation of EVMS. Before acceptance of its first class, more than $17 million had been donated from community and business leaders. In 1973, Eastern Virginia Medical School accepted its first class. The following year, the EVMS Office of Graduate Medical Education was established to coordinate residency and fellowship training programs. EVMS has since graduated its 30th class of physicians, with one in four of all local physicians having some connection to the University and, additionally has produced many other medical professionals to satisfy the ever-growing need for health care workers. In the spring of 2008, the Commonwealth of Virginia approved appropriating capital outlay funds to EVMS to allow it to increase its doctoral student enrollment by 30% and its physician assistant program by 60%. When this expansion is completed, the total student enrollment will rise to approximately 1,000.

Campus

Eastern Virginia Medical School is located in Norfolk, VA, near downtown and the historic neighborhood of Ghent. The school is part of the Eastern Virginia Medical Center, which also includes the afformentioned hospitals and affiliated satellite buildings, along with a "Medical Tower," that has many private practice medical offices. The Center is bounded by Colley Avenue, Brambleton Avenue, Hampton Boulevard, and Redgate Avenue. A campus map is available [http://www.evms.edu/about/images/evms-map.gifhere] . A planned light-rail system that is currently under construction will connect the campus with downtown Norfolk and points East to Virginia Beach. The campus facilities include:

* Lewis Hall – Named for Richmond philanthropists and early EVMS supporters Frances and Sydney Lewis, Eastern Virginia’s primary education and research facility.
* [http://www.evms.edu/evmslib/index.html Edward E. Brickell Medical Sciences Library] - State-of-the-art facility with an advanced information infrastructure allowing access to a host of digital resources. The Library opened in March 2000, and houses the original Moorman Memorial Library collection, a computer lab, a computer classroom, historical collections, archives, and group and individual study seating.
* Hofheimer Hall – Named in honor of Elise and Henry Clay Hofheimer II, this building includes the Office of the President and various clinical offices for members of EVMS Health Services. It is currently under renovation and will only house EVMS clinical offices/practices when complete.
* Fairfax Hall – Houses a variety of clinical, educational, and administrative offices, including Ghent Family Practice and the Theresa A. Thomas Professional Skills Teaching and Assessment Center. This building is currently under renovation to house predominantly administrative offices. It will be renamed Andrews Hall, after the late founder, Mason Andrews, MD.
* [http://www.jonesinstitute.org/ The Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine] – Opened in 1992, this building brought together in one location the 150 physicians, scientists, and staff of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology's renowned division of reproductive medicine. This Center is best known for production of America's first "Test-tube Baby" through the process of In Vitro Fertilization.
* South Campus Building – Home to the Center for Pediatric Research (a joint program with Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters) and the Department of Internal Medicine's Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes, also known as the Leonard R. Strelitz Diabetes Institutes.
* Smith-Rogers Hall – Originally part of Leigh Memorial Hospital, this building served in the early 1970s as the temporary home for EVMS while Lewis Hall was being constructed. Today it houses EVMS administrative offices, including the Human Resources Department and the Office of Institutional Advancement.
* [http://www.evms.edu/diabetes/ Strelitz Diabetes Center] "provides education, in-patient and outpatient care, and research focused on minimizing complications of diabetes and finding a cure."
* [http://www.evms.edu/evms-overview.pdf "New Building"] - Additional Educational and Research space is to be constructed on campus to accommodate the growing need for future medical personnel predicted by the AAMC. EVMS plans to expand enrollment, specifically in the MD and MPA programs. This building is also intended to augment the current research programs at the university. In April 2008, $59 million was pledged by the State to fund this project. The project is projected to begin in 2010.

Local Impact

In a 2007 study conducted by the regional Old Dominion University, EVMS was found to be among the greatest economic influences on the region.

The study found the following:
*EVMS’ imprint on the regional economy has grown to $711 million annually
*EVMS is a major employer in the region. With 1,386 full-time employees, EVMS is among the 25 largest non-federal employers in Hampton Roads.
*EVMS generates high-quality jobs. EVMS full-time employees earn an average of $73,874, compared to the regional average of $45,000.
*EVMS employees generate $2.65 million in real-estate taxes and $5.24 million in sales taxes, for a total of $7.89 million in annual local tax payments.
*EVMS students and residents (physicians in training) spend $23.81 million locally, not including tuition costs.
*EVMS Health Services provides $40.5 million in uncollected medical and surgical care. The cost of this uncompensated care would be passed on to area hospitals or other agencies if EVMS did not exist.
*It would cost local families $66.6 million annually to travel outside the region for medical care currently provided by EVMS Health Services.
*EVMS generates approximately $40 million in external research funding each year, a substantial source of outside revenue.
*One in four physicians in the region has a tie to EVMS.

Academics

Eastern Virginia Medical School offers a wide variety of medical programs including:

* Doctor of Medicine (M.D.)
* Joint M.D./M.P.H.
* Biomedical Sciences (Ph.D.; joint program with Old Dominion University)
* Virginia Consortium Program in Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.)
* Graduate Art Therapy (M.S.)
* Master of Physician Assistant (MPA)
* Master of Public Health (MPH)
* Biomedical Sciences Medical Track (M.S.)
* Biomedical Sciences Research Track (M.S.)
* Clinical Embryology and Andrology (M.S.)
* Ophthalmic Technology (B.S. and/or Certificate; joint program with Old Dominion University)
* Surgical Assistant (Certificate)

Graduate Medical Education

Fully accredited residencies, internships, and fellowships at EVMS include:

* Combined Family Medicine/Internal Medicine Residency Program
* Dermatology Residency Program
* Emergency Medicine Residency Program
* Endocrinology Fellowship
* Family and Community Medicine Fellowship
* Family and Community Medicine Residency Program
* General Surgery Residency Program
* Geriatrics and Gerontology Fellowship
* Infectious Disease Fellowship
* Internal Medicine Residency Program
* Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program
* Ophthalmology Residency Program
* Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Residency Program
* Pathology Residency Program
* Pediatrics Residency Program
* Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency Program
* Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship
* Psychiatry Residency Program
* Psychology Internship
* Radiation Oncology Residency Program
* Radiology Residency Program
* Reproductive Endocrinology
* Urology Residency Program
* Vascular Surgery Fellowship

Major Research Centers

*CONRAD (Contraceptive Research and Development)As part of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Jones Institute, CONRAD is one of the campuses leading research organizations. The group recently was awarded a $100 million grant for work on Microbicides, which are products in development that will eventually come in a variety of forms (such as topical gels, creams, tablets, films and pills) to prevent sexual transmission of HIV and potentially other sexually transmitted infections.

*The Jones Institute for Reproductive MedicineAs described above, the Jones Institute was the first American body to perform In Vitro Fertilization. It continues today to further reproductive and endocrine research.

*The Strelitz Diabetes InstitutesAs a leader in research for Diabetes, the Strelitz Diabetes Institute has made several important findings. Dr Aaron Vinik, one of the leading researchers in the field, discovered the importance of INGAP gene, which plays a role on pancreatic insulin cell regeneration.

Governance

As EVMS has a unique public/private structure unlike most schools in Virginia, the structure of the Board of Visitors is also unique. While most public schools in Virginia have the majority of their Board of Visitors appointed by the Governor of Virginia, EVMS's Board has 11 of its members appointed by city councils of the area's seven cities, while the other six are appointed by the Eastern Virginia Medical School Foundation, which is the fundraising arm of EVMS.

As part of the 2008 Virginia General Assembly session, a compromise was reached in order to include EVMS in Governor Tim Kaine's $1.43 Billion bond to finance renovation and construction at Virginia's universities, state colleges, and government facilities. In the compromise, EVMS would allow seven of its Board of Visitors to be appointed by the Governor, House, and Senate of Virginia in order to meet the definition of a public university which some state legislators did not believe EVMS currently fit.

Throughout its history, the idea of merging the school with nearby Old Dominion University has been raised but not carried out. In 2007 however, the two institutions reached a formal cooperation agreement. [cite news
title=ODU, EVMS formally agree to work together |url=http://hamptonroads.com/node/308261
work=The Virginian-Pilot
date=2007-08-09]

External links

* [http://www.evms.edu EVMS Homepage]
* [http://www.evms.edu/education/gme/index.html EVMS Graduate Medical Education: Residency, Fellowship and Internship Programs]
* [http://www.evms.edu/about/docs/campus-map.pdf Map of EVMS Campus]
* [http://www.evms.edu/evms-overview.pdf New Research/Educational building for EVMS]
*First American IVF Baby [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9F04E3DF1338F93AA15751C1A967948260 Original NY Times Article]

References