News Releases

ST. JOSEPH and KALAMAZOO, Mich., Oct 28, 2024 – Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine (WMed) and Corewell Health™ Lakeland Graduate Medical Education will offer clinical training for medical students at a new regional campus, located in St. Joseph, just 48 miles from WMed’s main location.

The partnership agreement, signed in August, will give second-, third- and fourth-year medical students an opportunity to complete their core and advanced clinical clerkship rotations alongside experienced physicians at Corewell Health Lakeland Hospitals – St. Joseph Hospital, Corewell Health Lakeland Hospitals - Niles Hospital and Corewell Health Watervliet Hospital.The first cohort of students from the new partnership will begin their rotations in March.

“Clinical clerkship rotations and residency programs are essential for medical education, as they offer students practical experience that cannot be replicated in a classroom,” said Natalie Baggio, president, Corewell Health in Southwest Michigan. “Our partnership allows Corewell Health to invest in the future of health care by providing guidance and mentorship to WMed students through our experienced physicians and medical staff.”

WMed students will complete their core clerkships in Family and Community Medicine, Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Psychiatry and Surgery at the new regional campus. WMed students will be joined by students from Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, who also complete rotations at Corewell Health hospitals in Southwest Michigan.

“In exploring a collaborative relationship, our organizations’ shared vision for health equity with a focus on developing future physicians to practice within Southwest Michigan created an ideal foundation,” said Michael Busha, MD, MBA, the medical school’s chief academic officer and senior associate dean for Academic Affairs. “I am excited to see WMed grow its regional partnerships and impact.”

The new regional campus also includes three residency training programs in emergency medicine, family medicine and internal medicine. Residency programs are a crucial part in a physician's training, following the completion of medical school and clinical clerkship rotations. As a training site for resident physicians, Corewell Health Lakeland Hospitals offers an array of resources for students, including quality educational facilities like a simulation training center that is accredited by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH). The learning experience is also enhanced by a low student-to-faculty ratio.

In addition to learning alongside physicians and faculty, students have the option to live in resident and student housing at Lookout Point in St. Joseph, which offers views of Lake Michigan and is only two miles from the city’s downtown district and hospital.

“Our partnership offers WMed students and medical residents the chance to immerse themselves into the community of Southwest Michigan,” said Baggio. “We hope that, with this experience, these future physicians will consider pursuing a medical career at Corewell Health.”

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About Corewell Health™

People are at the heart of everything we do, and the inspiration for our legacy of outstanding outcomes, innovation, strong community partnerships, philanthropy and transparency. Corewell Health is a not-for-profit health system that provides health care and coverage with an exceptional team of 65,000+ dedicated people—including more than 12,000 physicians and advanced practice providers and more than 15,500 nurses providing care and services in 21 hospitals, 300+ outpatient locations and several post acute facilities—and Priority Health, a provider-sponsored health plan serving more than 1.3 million members. Through experience and collaboration, we are reimagining a better, more equitable model of health and wellness. For more information, visit corewellhealth.org.

About Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine

We are committed to excellence and health equity through transformative medical education, high-quality, patient- and family-centered care, innovative research, and community partnerships within a just culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Our vision is health equity for all in Southwest Michigan through innovation in the practice and study of medicine.

The medical school is a collaboration of Western Michigan University and Kalamazoo's two teaching health systems, Ascension Borgess and Bronson Healthcare. The medical school is a private nonprofit corporation supported by private gifts, clinical revenues, research activities, tuition, and endowment income. Building upon a $100 million foundational gift in 2011, WMed is a recipient of the Empowering Futures Gift, a philanthropic commitment of $300 million to support the mission of the medical school. WMed contributes to the economic vitality of Southwest Michigan through the services we provide as well as the creation of 1,600 new jobs and an annual estimated economic impact of $353 million in Kalamazoo and Calhoun counties.

WMed is fully accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education and the Higher Learning Commission. The medical school offers a comprehensive, innovative four-year Doctor of Medicine degree program and a Master of Science degree program in Biomedical Sciences. We train physicians in 10 residencies and five fellowships accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. To support our educational mission, we have Joint Accreditation for interprofessional continuing education, which incorporates accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education.

WMed Health is the clinical practice of the medical school with more than 300 providers offering comprehensive primary care and specialty services in several locations throughout Kalamazoo, Portage, and Battle Creek. The Department of Pathology faculty serve as the Office of the Medical Examiner for counties throughout Michigan and northern Indiana.

The W.E. Upjohn M.D. Campus located in downtown Kalamazoo serves as the primary educational facility with faculty and administrative offices, student study and social spaces, team-based learning halls, a state-of-the-art Simulation Center accredited by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, basic science research labs, as well as toxicology and forensic pathology labs.

WMed is building upon Kalamazoo’s century-long foundation of drug discovery and medical device development with a strategic investment in clinical, laboratory, community, and educational research. The Center for Immunobiology, Center for Clinical Research, Research Histology Lab, Innovation Center, and Human Research Protection Program contribute to the medical school’s advancement of knowledge through innovation and discovery.

For more information, contact WMed Communications Director Laura Eller at laura.eller@wmed.edu, or Alexis Bolo Neal, senior communications specialist for Corewell Health, at alexis.boloneal@corewellhealth.org.