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OPINIONS
Thumbs up: Pharmacy school gets green light
The Tri-State's growth as a medical center took another step forward this week when Marshall University's new doctoral pharmacy program got a final green light to start this fall.
The university has been preparing to start the program for several years, but the pre-candidate accreditation status granted by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education gives the university the go-ahead to begin teaching an inaugural class of 80.
The School of Pharmacy will be located at the Robert W. Coon Education Building on the grounds of the Huntington VA Medical Center in Spring Valley. Renovations of the 76,000-square-foot space are moving along and should be ready for students in August.
"Everything is falling into place," Dr. Kevin Yingling, founding dean of the School of Pharmacy, told The Herald-Dispatch during a tour of the new facilities earlier this month. "All the designs and plans from the past two years are coming to fruition."
The student demand seems to be there as well. The school received 350 applications for the 80 slots over the course of the past year.
For many of the students, the program will follow an innovative six-year approach. Students will enter Marshall and take their standard freshman and sophomore classes on the main campus and then move to the pharmacy program in Spring Valley for the final four years.
The expanding medical education programs in our region not only provide more opportunities for our young people to build rewarding careers, but they continue to elevated the level of health care available to residents here. That's a win for everyone.
