LMU to develop third location of LMU-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine in Florida

Published 8:32 am Friday, February 9, 2024

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News Release

Lincoln Memorial University has initiated the accreditation process with the American Osteopathic Association’s (AOA) Commission on College Accreditation (COCA) for a third location of the Lincoln Memorial University-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine (LMU-DCOM) to be located in Orange Park, Florida.

Plans for LMU-DCOM’s third learning site were approved by the LMU Board of Trustees earlier this year after LMU purchased two adjacent buildings, consisting of a total of 130,000 square feet, on approximately 12 acres in Orange Park, Florida. The University plans to bring several of its successful health programs to site, including a second veterinary medicine program which has initiated its accreditation process. The learning site will further LMU’s mission of providing educational opportunities to communities in Appalachia and beyond.

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“Our additional location Orange Park, Florida will not only support our mission of producing osteopathic physicians to fill the current and projected needs of underserved and under-represented populations, it will also serve to provide educational opportunities for one of LMU-DCOM’s largest applicant cohorts-students from the state of Florida,” said Christopher Loyke, DO, FACOFP, dean and chief administrative officer of LMU-DCOM.

Contingent upon obtaining all required approvals, LMU-DCOM at Orange Park aims to matriculate an inaugural class in 2026.

LMU-DCOM was founded in 2007 with the Harrogate location in LMU’s main campus. A second location was added in Knoxville in 2020. Since the inaugural class graduated in 2011, 2,522 have earned Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degrees from Lincoln Memorial University. Of the 99% of graduates (2011-2023) located based on licensure information 69% are licensed in primary care and 43% are located in underserved areas. The numbers illustrate how LMU-DCOM is fulfilling its mission of preparing physicians to serve the underserved.