GREAT FALLS - Touro University opened a new College of Osteopathic Medicine in Great Falls.
The project for the new medical school began about three years ago, and this week is orientation and the students’ first time visiting the new campus. The students will officially start classes on July 31.
Each class will consist of about 125 students. This will allow for smaller class sizes to better serve the students and round out their educational experience.
Founding Dean of Touro COM, Dr. Elizabeth Palmarozzi DO, said this is a great location for this new college because it will allow the students to train in areas here locally and across the state.
“The location here, the hope is to be able to graduate students that are now physicians who will train in areas that we have available in Montana (and) we will also start residency programs in Montana,” said Dr. Palmarozzi.
The 100,000-square-foot property is the largest and first non-profit medical school in the state of Montana.
Touro University Provost, Patricia Salkin, said one goal of the new college is to benefit the rural and frontier communities which don’t necessarily have easy access to medical care.
Salkin also said that it will have a great economic impact on the community by bringing in around 500 students over the course of four years, as well as faculty and staff, with some local and some moving in from out of state.
“We hope that by having this campus here that the students will be exposed to rural and frontier medicine and that they'll hopefully decide to open up practices and to be a part of clinics that serve those populations so that people here can get better access to medical care,” said Salkin.
Dr. Palmarozzi said they have felt welcomed by the community of Great Falls and are grateful to everyone who has helped in getting them to this point.
“We are just absolutely thrilled to be here,” said Dr. Palmarozzi. “The community of Great Falls has been extremely welcoming and instrumental in bringing us here and supporting us.”
There will be an official Grand Opening and ribbon-cutting for the new College of Osteopathic Medicine on Aug. 7.
You can visit the Touro University website to learn more by clicking here.
