WellSpan Health and the Lewis Katz School of Medicine (Katz) at Temple University have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a new regional campus in York County.
The proposed arrangement will add the second regional campus to Temple’s medical school, which currently enrolls 880 medical students at the main Health Sciences Center campus in North Philadelphia and St. Luke’s University Health Network campus in Bethlehem, Pa.
“The high-quality care WellSpan is known for across the Mid-Atlantic will only be enhanced by welcoming these medical students who will soon train and hone their skills among our own expert physicians and team members,” said Dr. Anthony Aquilina, executive vice president and chief physician executive, WellSpan Health. “Temple University has a strong national reputation for its educational programs, and we’re excited to work with such a prestigious institution knowing how it will benefit our patients.”
“We are thrilled to work with WellSpan Health, renowned for its commitment to exceptional patient care. This collaboration will provide our medical students with unparalleled opportunities to learn and grow. Together, we will advance medical education and improve health outcomes for communities across the region. We look forward to an incredible collaboration that will not only benefit our institutions, students, faculty, and staff, but also the patients and communities we serve,” said Amy J. Goldberg, MD, FACS, The Marjorie Joy Katz Dean, Lewis Katz School of Medicine.
The arrangement will serve as a significant step in enhancing the supply of future WellSpan physicians across the health system and throughout central Pennsylvania communities. The first class of approximately 40 students would begin in August 2027 and graduate in May 2031. The proposed location of the campus will be in East York at 3350 Whiteford Road, which is a current WellSpan administrative building. WellSpan York Hospital will be home to the initial clinical site for the school, with the ability to utilize all WellSpan Health hospitals and ambulatory sites throughout the learning experience. The campus will employ more than 100 Katz faculty and have a staff of 30.
The increased number of students and professionals who will live in the region because of this school will infuse and strengthen the local economy. Analysis shows that medical schools bring a highly diverse student and faculty network that will, in turn, advance existing WellSpan residency and fellowship programs, and likely lead to increased innovations, research and clinical trial opportunities for patients.
WellSpan also recently announced it would affiliate with Jersey College to establish a school of nursing in the region that will offer an associate degree in nursing to help address the national nursing shortage.