FIU Wertheim College of Medicine and Baptist Health announce clinical partnership

MIAMI (June 30, 2009) Florida International University’s Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine announced today that it has signed an affiliation agreement with Baptist Health South Florida, the first FIU medical school partnership that will increase the number of medical residencies available in South Florida.

“All of South Florida’s medical students will benefit from increased residency programs,” said Dr. John Rock, founding dean of the Wertheim College of Medicine. “And South Florida will benefit since research shows that 70 percent of doctors remain in the communities where they do their residencies.”

As part of the formal academic affiliation, Baptist Health and FIU will develop an accredited family practice residency program at West Kendall Baptist Hospital, which is currently under construction. The Wertheim College of Medicine’s mission to improve health care in South Florida includes developing residency programs in the area. Baptist also will work with FIU to provide its medical students with opportunities for clinical rotations at Baptist Health.

“We have enjoyed a longstanding relationship with Baptist and are pleased to cement it through this agreement,” Rock said  “Baptist is a leader in health care and their long tradition of healing in our community will enhance our mission of educating socially aware and responsive physicians who will practice medicine in a compassionate and comprehensive manner.”

Baptist Health South Florida, the largest faith-based, not-for-profit health care organization in the region, has a network of services that extends throughout Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. Its facilities include Baptist, Baptist Children’s, South Miami, Homestead, Mariners and Doctors Hospitals, and Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute.

The Wertheim College of Medicine faculty includes 45 members of the Baptist medical staff including Dr. John Uribe, who is chair of Orthopedics at FIU and Dr. Manuel Peñalver, who serves as chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

 “The affiliation is a win-win-win,” said Brian E. Keeley, president and chief executive officer for Baptist Health. “It benefits the College of Medicine, of course, by the fact that we lend our expertise to the medical students’ education. It benefits Baptist Health, in that it will undoubtedly result in our ability to recruit well-educated primary care physicians to our hospital staffs. And it certainly benefits the community at large, because there is such a tremendous need for more primary care physicians.”

In August, the Wertheim College of Medicine will welcome its inaugural class of 43 students, chosen from more than 3,000 applicants. FIU’s other clinical partners include Jackson Health Systems, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Children’s Hospital, Mercy Hospital and Leon Medical Centers.

Media Contacts: Madeline Baro at 305-348-2234
News@FIU       

Jo Baxter at 786-596-6534
Baptist Health South Florida 

-FIU-

About Baptist Health South Florida:
Baptist Health South Florida is the largest faith-based, not-for-profit healthcare organization in the region. It includes Baptist Hospital, Baptist Children’s Hospital, South Miami Hospital, Doctors Hospital, Homestead Hospital, Mariners Hospital in the Upper Keys, Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute and Baptist Outpatient Services. Baptist Health Foundation, the organization’s fundraising arm, supports services at all hospitals and facilities affiliated with Baptist Health. For more information, go to www.baptisthealth.net.

About the FIU College of Medicine:
The Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine was approved in 2006 by the Florida Board of Governors and the Florida Legislature.  In 2008, it received preliminary accreditation by the Liaison Committee for Medical Education of the AAMC and will admit its first class in the fall of 2009. Among the innovative elements of the FIU College of Medicine is a program called NeighborhoodHELP, which will send medical students along with their counterparts in social work, nursing and public health, into the community from the onset of their academic programs. The FIU College of Medicine is expected to have a multi-billion-dollar economic impact on Miami-Dade County, bringing thousands of jobs to the area and eventually contributing millions to the state coffers every year. For more information visit http://medicine.fiu.edu/

About FIU:
Florida International University was founded in 1965 and is Miami’s only public research university. With a student body of more than 38,000, its 17 colleges and schools offer more than 200 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations and law. FIU has been classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a “High Research Activity University” and now qualifies as a “Very High Research University”.  In 2006 FIU was authorized to establish a medical school, which will welcome its first class in August 2009. FIU’s College of Law received accreditation in the fastest time allowed by the American Bar Association.