JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville will soon be home to a four-year medical school for the first time ever.
On Wednesday morning, Jacksonville University and Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine announced the partnership.
The medical school is supported by long-term clinical agreements with the region’s preeminent healthcare providers, including Baptist Health, Flagler Health+, and AdventHealth, according to a news release.
LECOM plans to build its new education facility within the Jacksonville University Medical Mall located at the north end of the university’s Arlington campus along University Boulevard North.
“(It’s a) major step in health care education,” Tim Cost, President of Jacksonville University, said. “It’s a healthcare hub we all know that about Jacksonville. But now, for the first time in our 200-year history, to have a four-year medical school, (it’s) tremendous.”
The Jacksonville University medical school hopes to welcome its inaugural class by 2026 with approximately 75 medical students. Cost expects about 150 students a year to be enrolled in the program by 2030.