ORLANDO, Oct. 23, 2007 – The University of Central Florida’s College of Medicine has signed affiliation agreements with Orlando Regional Healthcare and Florida Hospital.
The affiliation agreements will allow medical students to participate in clinical training at Orlando Regional and Florida Hospital campuses.
The agreements are an essential requirement for medical school accreditation. Completing this affiliation agreement prior to final submission of the College of Medicine’s accreditation application significantly improves the likelihood that the new medical school will receive approval from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the national accrediting body for medical schools. The college also is pursuing other agreements.
“We want to bring the very best medical students to the UCF College of Medicine, and part of how we attract them is to provide high quality learning opportunities with premier organizations such as Orlando Regional Healthcare and Florida Hospital,” said Dr. Deborah German, dean of the College of Medicine. “When we stand together as a community, we accomplish more than anyone of us could accomplish alone. These affiliations are examples of the tremendous support our community continues to show for the College of Medicine.”
The UCF College of Medicine was established in 2006 to increase opportunities for medical education in Florida, address the growing physician shortage nationwide and provide economic benefits to Central Florida and the state through research and technology. The college will offer a doctor of medicine (MD) degree program beginning fall 2009, pending preliminary accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. The college expects to enroll an initial class of 40 students and eventually produce about 120 medical graduates each year.
The affiliations also present new opportunities for faculty development, potential collaborative research projects and other possibilities.
Orlando Regional Healthcare, a 1,780-bed private, not-for-profit organization was established in 1918. The hospital system serves 1.6 million Central Florida residents and nearly 3,000 international patients annually U.S. News & World Report ranked Orlando Regional Healthcare as one of the nation’s best hospitals, Fortune magazine recognized Orlando Regional as one of the Top 100 Companies to Work for in America and the Herman Group designated Orlando Regional Healthcare an Employer of Choice.
Florida Hospital is one of the largest not-for-profit health systems in the country, and is nationally recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of America’s Best Hospitals for cardiology, cancer, neurology, diabetes and rehabilitation. Florida Hospital treats more inpatients than any other hospital in the United States, according to 2002 American Hospital Association Resource Center.