King College is a small private college in Bristol, Tennessee offering more than 80 majors, minors and other programs. They could soon offer much more.
"It's an exciting day for King, but also for our region," said King College President, Dr. Greg Jordan.
The school announced Thursday that King is starting a medical college. Jordan said this new school will fill a tremendous shortage of doctors in the Tri-Cities Region.
"If we can address the medically under served counties and produce physicians who will assist in the implementation of healthcare, so much the better," Jordan said.
He also believes the school will create a huge economic impact. King College is predicting a $62 million dollar economic impact on the region, beginning in 2021 and they believe that number could jump to $325 million by 2025. Jordan was later asked about any concerns with ETSU’s Quillen College of Medicine being nearby.
"Even if we had multiple schools of medicine in the region they are going to provide a complimentary program to one another and address this national shortage," said Jordan.
But ETSU president Dr. Paul Stanton does have some concerns, specifically a possible shortage of clinical teaching sites in hospital and outpatient settings. In a written response Stanton said:
"Our accrediting body has specific mandates that address clinical teaching requirements. If we determined that our clinical teaching might be compromised, we would have to show opposition."
Dr. Stanton has requested the data generated by king's consultants. If the clinical question is not a problem Stanton said he'd be happy to talk about collaboration between the two schools of medicine.
The school hopes to welcome the first students in 2012.
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