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OUR VIEW: A leader by example at the helm of NEOUCOM n MORE THAN LIP SERVICE FROM JAY GERSHEN ON MED COLLEGE INITIATIVE

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September 1, 2010

DR. JAY GERSHEN, WHO WAS
INAUGURATED LAST WEEK AS THE SIXTH PRESIDENT OF THE NORTHEASTERN OHIO UNIVERSITIES COLLEGES OF MEDICINE AND PHARMACY, HAS LEFT NO DOUBT THAT HE INTENDS TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE.

Gershen has touted an "Education for Service" initiative that would encourage young doctors to provide primary care in underserved areas of Northeastern Ohio. In exchange for pledging such service, the high school students enrolled in the program would receive free tuition from undergraduate school through medical school.

Gershen hopes to raise funds for the program through state and government sources, the region's medical and business communities and philanthropists. And he's leading the way himself -- by donating $100,000 toward the initiative. That's nearly a quarter of his annual salary at the medical college.

"Education for Service" ties in directly with the mission of NEOUCOM, which came into being in the 1970s to help meet the need for family physicians. Roughly 40 percent of its graduates now pursue primary-care fields, a vitally important area of concentration that is likely to become even more critical as health care reforms are implemented.

Gershen's initiative promises to be an effective way of channeling prospective doctors toward the primary care field. In exchange for paying the cost of their education, it encourages them to devote their energies to those most in need of their services while being spared the burden of shouldering as much as $200,000 in medical college debt as they begin their practices.

What is being termed a "high school to practice pipeline" initially would link NEOUCOM with Cleveland State University, but Gershen is working with Kent State University and the University of Akron to draw on students enrolled there. That could result in partnerships with the medical communities in Portage and Summit counties.

"NEOUCOM is in a unique position to be transformational," Gershen said during his inauguration. In doing so, the college will be continuing the mission its founders envisioned nearly 40 years ago. And it appears that the newest president at its helm will, indeed, take the lead.




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