COMP-Northwest, the Pacific Northwest campus of Western University of Health Sciences’ (WesternU) College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (COMP), formally welcomed its inaugural class of 107 students Saturday, July 30, during Convocation and white coat ceremonies held on the new campus in Lebanon.
The school, which will teach osteopathic medicine, is located in a new medical complex being developed by Samaritan Health Services across Highway 20 from Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital.
Dr. Philip Pumerantz, founding president of WesternU, presided over the ceremonies, which featured a Convocation keynote address by Dr. John Kitzhaber, governor of Oregon, himself a former emergency room physician and chief author of the Oregon Health Plan.
Kitzhaber told the inaugural class that he applauded their decision to join the ranks of the nation’s healers, but that many challenges lie ahead for them, not least the U.S. health-care system itself.
“Our current system is designed for sick care, not preventative care,” he said. “This system that we have today, that you have decided to join … is simply not sustainable.”
Kitzhaber said that in an era when primary care physician shortages loom throughout Oregon, the Northwest and the U.S., a new focus is needed to prioritize care, ensuring that basic health-care needs are met for everyone with the best level of quality possible.
“COMP-Northwest is going to go a long way toward helping meet this crisis,” he said.
The governor’s address was followed by WesternU’s traditional white coat ceremony. COMP-Northwest’s first class was called to the stage, and each student was coated by a member of the faculty as a symbol not only of the students’ entry into the health professions, but also of the academic and personal support they will receive while at the university.
The coating was followed by the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine’s Pledge of Commitment, recited by the students and led by Dr. Alan Bates, DO, an Oregon state senator.
COMP-Northwest’s class of 107 students is made up of 57 men and 50 women, with nearly 70 percent of them hailing from the Pacific Northwest.
The students’ average age is 28; 77 of them have research backgrounds; the majority of their undergraduate degrees are in chemistry, biology or microbiology; three are veterans of Afghanistan or Iraq; and three already hold Ph.Ds.
The Convocation and white coat ceremonies followed several days of orientation activities on the COMP-Northwest campus, including a reception for parents, the President’s Ice Cream Social, and a black-tie dinner and building dedication that included the unveiling of Pumerantz Plaza, the area in front of the COMP-Northwest facility named in honor of Dr. Pumerantz, the University’s president.