Historically Black Xavier University of Louisiana has announced plans to establish its own medical school. Once official accreditation approval is granted by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission, the new Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine will become the fifth medical school in the United States at a historically Black college or university.
The Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine stems from a long-time partnership with Xavier University and Ochsner Health, a medical training center for physicians in the Gulf South. The two institutions began collaborating in the 1980s at the university’s College of Pharmacy, and have since worked together to create a physician assistant program, new health science graduate programs, and the Ochsner Health and Xavier University Institute for Health Equity and Research.
Housed in downtown New Orleans, the Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine aims to eliminate healthcare disparities among underrepresented populations and train the next generation of physicians who will better reflect the communities they serve. The medical school will acquire state-of-the-art medical technology and facilities, providing students with hands-on, experiential learning opportunities. The college’s curriculum will have a particular focus on interdisciplinary collaboration, clinical proficiency, and patient care, while training its students to champion inclusivity and excellence in medicine.
Leonardo Seoane, executive vice president and chief academic officer at Ochsner Health, has been selected to serve as founding dean of the Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine. “Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine was born from a truly collaborative vision between Xavier University of Louisiana and Ochsner Health. It epitomizes our collective dedication to providing academic excellence in training the next generation of physicians, while fostering healthcare equity in New Orleans and throughout the United States,” said Dr. Seoane.
The country’s four other historically Black medical schools are the Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, D.C., the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, and the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in California.
Hopefully, this will help reduce/alleviate the health disparities and adequate funding will be made available to sustain this initiative. Especially after vestiges of discrimination and racism remain after the FLEXNER report decimated black medical schools and are partially responsible for the current poor health outcomes in the black community.