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Benefis Health System, located in Great Falls, Montana, will serve as the state's clinical hub for ICOM. Earlier this year, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education awarded Benefis with a "sponsorship institution" designation. is new accreditation gave the health system the ability to teach resident students who want to practice in Montana but are enrolled at ICOM. " We have a need for more doctors in Montana, and we want the opportunity to help educate them in Montana," said John Goodnow, CEO of Benefis Health System. "By having the students start their medical education in Idaho and then have the opportunity to participate in a residency program back at home, is a great benefit to all Montanans." When ICOM graduates transfer into their residencies, school leaders say the hope is that they'll remain in Idaho, or one of the target states. Studies show the physical location of residency programs is one of three major determinants of where physicians choose to practice, making ICOM part of the solution to Montana's rural area physician shortage. It's estimated that 52 of Montana's 56 counties are primary care shortage areas. Montana also has one of the oldest physician populations, meaning a wave of retiring physicians will soon need to be replaced. "e location of the school, coupled with its focus on primary care, makes ICOM an ideal partner for Benefis as we aim to increase our involvement with the education and development of physicians," Goodnow said. "is involvement will be crucial to Benefis' continued success, given the strong correlation between place of residency completion and place of first employment." ~Stephanie Dillon is the Director of Communications & Marketing for ICOM. e University of Idaho alumna previously worked as a television journalist across the Gem State. e Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine is working to develop and expand residency programs throughout the five-state region. In fact, ICOM is investing more than $5 million during the first 10 years of operation to develop new residency programs. "As Idaho's first medical school, ICOM is commied to supporting graduate medical education," Dr. Hasty said. "Idaho currently ranks 49th in the nation for both the number of physicians and resident physicians per capita, while Montana ranks 47th. Our partnerships with area health systems will have a lasting impact on health care in the region." Given the area's poor rankings, health care leaders say it makes sense that the state's first medical school is centered on osteopathic medicine. In the U.S., there are two types of physicians who practice medicine. Most physicians hold the Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree, while osteopathic physicians hold the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree. Both MDs and DOs are licensed in all 50 states, and are represented in every specialty. e difference between the two lies in their respective approaches. Osteopathic physicians practice the entire scope of modern medicine, bringing a patient centered, hands-on approach to diagnosing and treating illness and injury. ey work in partnership with patients to help them achieve a high level of wellness by focusing on health education, injury prevention, and disease prevention. "Osteopathic physicians are more likely to practice in rural and underserved communities," Dr. Hasty said. "Today, one out of every four medical students is studying osteopathic medicine. DOs are the type of physicians that Americans want." When incoming student, Ryan O'Neill, began his search for medical schools, Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine topped his list. e Bozeman resident said the school's location and focus on osteopathic medicine were aractive. "One of my first steps, when I was preparing to submit applications, was to rank the schools by location," O'Neill said. "I love the Rockies and I love Montana and Idaho, so when I saw that ICOM had begun accepting applications, it was great." O'Neill received his undergraduate and master's degrees from Montana State University. He plans on specializing in emergency medicine and returning to his home state to practice. e aspiration O'Neill and Hepola share, to serve the communities in their home state, is echoed amongst ICOM's inaugural class; and gives hospital systems, like Benefis, hope for a brighter future. "As national physician shortages worsen, particularly in vital primary care and rural areas, our partnership with ICOM will allow Benefis to continue to recruit a new generation of highly qualified physicians to meet the needs of Northcentral Montana patients for years to come," Goodnow said. ICOM will officially open its doors to its first class of future doctors on August 20, 2018. S MT Photo: Really Montana Photography Photo: Really Montana Photography SiG MT 45

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