Pikeville College announces major expansion project

PIKEVILLE, Ky. – On behalf of the Board of Trustees of Pikeville College, President Paul E. Patton announced Oct. 9 plans to build a Clinical Skills Training and Evaluation Center, a two-phase multi-million dollar project that will improve educational opportunities for the undergraduate program and the School of Osteopathic Medicine (PCSOM).

“Since its inception, the Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine has been a true Kentucky story and a true Kentucky success,” said Patton. “Nationally ranked as one of the top 20 U.S. medical schools in rural medicine, we’re making significant progress toward our mission to help alleviate the shortage of primary care physicians. We believe this expansion project is essential to the college’s growth and will significantly impact health care in Eastern Kentucky and central Appalachia.”

The estimated cost for Phase I of the Clinical Skills Training and Evaluation Center is $2 million and includes a complete renovation of the first floor of Spilman Apartment building, located adjacent to Armington Learning Center, PCSOM’s primary building.

The Clinical Skills Training and Evaluation Center will house PCSOM’s programs on standardized patients, patient simulation and human models. The first floor will include 12 exam rooms, two of which will use patient simulators and 10 that will be used for standardized patients. Standardized patients are trained to portray patients with specific medical conditions. PCSOM’s standardized patient program enhances diagnostic and communication skills for students before they interact with real patients as physicians. Each room will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology and other observation mechanisms that will allow faculty and staff to review students as they work and learn.

Phase II will include construction of a new lecture hall and gross anatomy lab to accommodate an increase in class size in the future, as well as additional faculty offices and student study space. The estimated $2.5 million cost for the second phase also includes plans for construction of new teaching labs and expanded research space in the Armington Learning Center.

“The benefits of this project are multiple,” said Boyd R. Buser, D.O., vice president and dean of PCSOM. “In addition to directly improving the diagnostic and clinical skills of our medical students, Pikeville College nursing students will also be able to utilize the space for similar training. Longer-term benefits will be medical students who become physicians with a better understanding of patients’ needs, and a humanistic approach to develop a professional, compassionate and competent relationship with their patients, an approach that will greatly impact their careers, the patients they serve and health care in our region.”

Patton also announced that the college is initiating a $4.5 million capital campaign to support the project.

“I’m very pleased that the college has been awarded a matching grant of $500,000 from the James Graham Brown Foundation as the first major gift towards this goal,” said Patton.
The James Graham Brown Foundation of Louisville fosters the well-being, quality of life, and image of Kentucky by actively supporting and funding projects in the fields of civic affairs, economic development, education, and health and general welfare.

“Pikeville College exists because of the businesses, organizations and individuals who have, over the years, made substantial contributions to the capital needs of this institution. We are grateful for their leadership efforts in providing the kind of high quality education that our students deserve.”

Since its inception over a decade ago, more than $14 million in gifts have been invested in the medical school. PCSOM was the dream of Paintsville attorney G. Chad Perry III, a visionary whose generosity and perseverance paved the way for a new generation of doctors to provide primary care in medically underserved areas of Eastern Kentucky and the Appalachian region. Perry was joined in the effort by community and regional leaders in East Kentucky, along with major corporations and foundations interested in enhancing and improving the welfare of the people of the region. Significant grants have also been received from the Appalachian Regional Commission, the United States Small Business Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Rural Utilities Service.

Pikeville College is an independent, four-year liberal arts and sciences college in the heart of central Appalachia. Founded in 1889 by Presbyterian ministers seeking to provide educational opportunities for mountain youth, the college has played an integral role in the educational, economic and cultural development of its service area for more than a century. Recently ranked as one of the top 20 medical schools in the nation in rural medicine by U.S. News & World Report, the Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine was established in 1997 to provide men and women with an osteopathic medical education that emphasizes primary care, encourages research, promotes lifelong scholarly activity and produces graduates who are committed to serving the health care needs of communities in Eastern Kentucky and other Appalachian regions.