Dr James Nemitz, right, is president of the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine and Dr Marla Heller, left, is the regional dean of the WVSOM Midwest region campus site in Parkersburg. (Photo by Wayne Towner)

PARKERSBURG – The West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine held an open house on Wednesday at its new training center in Parkersburg.

The event included tours of the WVSOM State Campus office in Parkersburg at 2803 Murdoch Ave.

Dr James Nemitz, President of WVSOM, as well as Dr Marla Haller, Regional Dean of the WVSOM Central West Region Campus Site, were present for the open house.

“This new space will allow our osteopathic medicine students who are in residence in hospitals in the region to present medical cases, to put their skills into practice and to organize end-of-internship tests each month. Nemitz said.

“Previously, we had to rent a space for these activities. Haller added. “Now we have plenty of room. “

The West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine hosted an open house Wednesday for its Midwestern region campus at 2803 Murdoch Ave. in Parkersburg. (Photo by Wayne Towner)

Many of the school’s third and fourth year osteopathic medicine students do their internships at WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center and Memorial Health System in Marietta.

“We attach great importance to our hospital partnerships in this region”, Nemitz said. “We are happy to work with them to help provide a high standard of health care in the Parkersburg area. “

WVSOM has seven regional campuses across West Virginia, he said. The Parkersburg facility was originally a rented office on Market Street, but the program has grown too large for that space, Nemitz said. The regional campus moved to the Murdoch Avenue location in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic prompted officials to delay the open house until last week.

Through the school’s curriculum, Nemitz said students spend their first two years at the main Lewisburg campus and then choose a regional campus like Parkersburg or one of the others for their third and fourth years of school. studies.

The Parkersburg office will serve as a physical location for local school staff, as well as a classroom for educational and training activities.

The new West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine Midwestern Region Campus on Murdoch Avenue provides education and training space for third and fourth year students. (Photo by Wayne Towner)

“It complements what they learn in hospitals, clinics and doctor’s offices” he said.

“We are one of the leading producers of physicians in the state of West Virginia and we are really proud of it. In fact, we have a lot of graduates here in the Parkersburg area ”, Nemitz said.

The Parkersburg campus works with 21 third-year students and 21 fourth-year students. Overall, WVSOM accepts 200 new students each year and works with 800 students statewide.

WVSOM is one of the leading producers of rural doctors in the state and across the country, Nemitz said, adding that the school will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2022.

Haller said she graduated from WVSOM in 1993, before the school began to develop its network of regional campuses.

“This gives students an integrated third and fourth year in which they can participate in base hospitals and be able to enhance their education by having us in the field with them and being able to organize days of education. education and being a resource when they need it. this,” she said.

“It’s really a great opportunity for us to be able to be an integral part of their education in their third and fourth years and to see success every time they graduate. “ Haller said.

Wayne Towner can be contacted at [email protected]