Amanda Renko

arenko@stargazette.com | @SGAmandaR

Local leaders have enlisted the help of U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer to secure accreditation for a proposed four-year medical school in Elmira after nearly two years of denials.

During a Friday rally at Arnot Ogden Medical Center, Schumer pushed for the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation to approve the efforts of Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine to start a branch campus at Elmira College.

Schumer will urge the U.S. Department of Education to ensure the accreditation process is fair and thorough, he said Friday, calling the process unfair.

COCA won't give accreditation to the school "for reasons no one can figure out," Schumer said, "even though the application seems to be in great shape. It's the final step."

Schumer's support of the proposal is twofold, he said Friday. The school could funnel health care providers to underserved regions in western New York and the Southern Tier, while pairing with downtown Elmira's ongoing revitalization efforts.

LECOM estimates the school would bring 80 students per year, plus faculty, to the Elmira area who will then contribute to the local economy.

Officials had initially anticipated the school would open in the fall of 2017. However, COCA has denied LECOM's application to grant preliminary accreditation to the Elmira campus four times "despite providing documentation and clarification to questions raised regarding access to learning space and curriculum presented at the proposed Elmira campus," according to a news release from Schumer's office.

Schumer said he's written letters to the board in the past and plans to make phone calls and work with officials to come to a solution.

"Often in my career, I've been able to cut through red tape and that's what I'm going to try to do here," he said. "I can't force them to do it, it's a private accrediting agency, but I hope when I do call that they'll listen to me. I'll tell them how important this is to me and to the whole community."

COCA, the national accrediting board for osteopathic medical schools, has not provided any helpful information as to why LECOM Elmira’s applications have been repeatedly denied, said Dr. Richard Terry, LECOM’s assistant dean of regional clinical education and Arnot Health’s director of graduate medical education.

Terry attributed the denials to "politics at its worst," adding that some of LECOM's competitors serve on COCA's board.

"They haven't made their decision based on the facts and merits of the application," he said. "We have an excellent track record and an excellent product."

LECOM has a main campus in Erie, Pennsylvania, and branch campuses in Greensburg, Pennsylvania and Bradenton, Florida. The school partners with 16 hospitals in New York state, including Arnot Ogden Medical Center, to offer clinical rotations to students.

Arnot's residency program, which was launched in 2012 as a precursor to a four-year medical school, already provides the structure to meet COCA's educational requirements, Terry said.

Nine of the LECOM-educated residents already working at Arnot Health have chosen to stay in the area after graduation, Terry said. That number could be greatly increased if LECOM brings more students to Elmira, and graduates would lower the average physician age in Chemung County, where Terry said many doctors are preparing to retire.

The potential impact, Terry said, "is enormous. It's not just Elmira — it's all over the state, in underserved areas."

COCA carefully reviews each accreditation request and will not reveal information about the basis for decisions while an appeal is pending, the American Osteopathic Association, which operates COCA, said in a statement Friday. Organizations may reapply or appeal to COCA in the event of a denial or "adverse accreditation action."

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