NEOUCOM will offer new program

The pharmacy program is expected to create 400 jobs within eight years.
ROOTSTOWN -- The Ohio Board of Regents has approved the creation of a doctor of pharmacy program at the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine.
Classes are set to begin in the fall of 2007.
"This is truly a watershed moment in the history of NEOUCOM," said Dr. Lois M. Nora, M.D., NEOUCOM president and medical school dean.
"I am delighted that the Ohio Board of Regents recognizes the quality and importance of this program, not only for our prospective students in eastern Ohio, but also for the betterment of patient care in this state and the positive economic impact the program will have on the regional economy," she said.
Regional impact
There is a need for pharmacists in Ohio, Nora said, noting that recent studies indicate that, by 2020, Ohio will experience a shortage of 14,000 pharmacists. Nationally, the number will reach 157,000, she said.
NEOUCOM's program will emphasize interdisciplinary teamwork, with medical students and pharmacy students in many combined educational settings, allowing students to develop a broad view of patient care and learn to work effectively with other health professionals, Nora said.
NEOUCOM recruits Ohio students who choose to stay in the state after graduation. On average, 90 percent of all students in each medical class are Ohio residents, and more than half of the college's 2,248 graduates live and work in Ohio, Nora said.
The pharmacy program was first proposed in June, and 474 prospective students have already filled out an online interest form.
NEOUCOM will form partnerships with Youngstown State University, The University of Akron, Kent State University and Cleveland State University to offer the program.
Preferential admissions agreements will allow students to complete their pre-pharmacy studies at one of those schools and then apply to the four-year NEOUCOM program. A direct-entry method of admission from those schools is also anticipated.
An economic impact study of the program projects that, within eight years, it will have a positive impact on Northeast Ohio's economy of more than $51 million and will generate nearly 400 jobs.
Statewide, the impact is estimated at more than $58 million and 528 jobs in that same time period.
The current median annual salary for pharmacists is $89,723.
Founding dean
Dr. David D. Allen has been named founding dean of the pharmacy program and professor of pharmaceutical sciences and professor of physiology and pharmacology effective January 2006.
Allen is associate dean of curricular affairs and associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at Amarillo. He earned a bachelor's degree in pharmacy and a doctorate in pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Kentucky.