SigMT

e Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine (ICOM), the first medical school in the state of Idaho, will welcome its inaugural class of 162 students this fall. "Our goal is to aract the best and brightest students," said Dr. Tracy Farnsworth, ICOM President. "We're delighted with our first class." Located in Meridian, Idaho, the three-story, 94,000-square-foot facility cost $34 million, and took just over one year to build. e facility houses a variety of classroom space, including: two lecture halls, each with 250 seats; a state-of-the-art clinical simulation center; a medical library; and an Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) Lab. Additionally, 12 Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) rooms will be located on the second floor — making it the largest OSCE suite in the State of Idaho. School leaders say ICOM's design and resources are exemplary of a modern medical educational environment, perfect for training future doctors who will practice medicine safely. "ICOM has made a commitment to provide the best and most modern medical education in the nation," said Founding Dean and Chief Academic Officer, Robert Hasty, DO. "We designed Idaho's first medical school to meet the needs of the physician of the future." Dr. Hasty says ICOM's mission is to train caring and competent osteopathic physicians prepared for caring for persons in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota and beyond — referred to as the school's "target states." It's that mission that motivated incoming student, Keiffer Hepola of Bue, Montana, to choose ICOM. "During my admissions interview, faculty talked about training caring and competent physicians, and seeing that mentality exuded by everyone, I really bought into that," Hepola said. Hepola, a graduate of Montana State University, says he plans to specialize in ophthalmology, and hopes to practice in Montana aer graduation. "I've always had an interest in the eye," Hepola said. "I would love to practice in Montana, specifically the western part of the state, where I'm from." Students will spend the first two years of didactic training on campus. Aerward, they'll spend the third and fourth years of their education doing clinical rotations at affiliated hospital systems throughout the five target states. Currently, ICOM has established partnerships with more than 35 hospital and health systems in the region. Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine Teams Up with Benefis Health System to Bring More Doctors to Montana. A Prescription for Better Health Care in Rural Montana SiG MT 44 By Stephine Dillon Photo: Eric Turner

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