The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University announced Friday it welcomed its second class of 91 students. The students were selected out of nearly 5,000 applications, Hackensack said.
“Dynamic changes in health care require a new approach to medical education and we are thrilled to welcome our next class of future physicians who will humanize health care,” said Robert C. Garrett, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health.
Garrett said additionally, the HMH board of trustees has provided a $100 million endowment fund for scholarships to make sure top students can afford a medical education.
“We are thrilled to transform medical education so that our graduates are uniquely prepared to practice in a new world of health care delivery,” Garrett said.
The private school, which opened last year, will provide a curriculum that includes: a three-year path to residency to make medical education more affordable; partnering students with patients in underserved communities so they better understand social determinants of health; and interdisciplinary learning so graduates are prepared to provide team-based care.
“Our goal is to maximize health in all of the communities we serve, a goal best achieved through an interdisciplinary approach based on an understanding that health and wellness, as well as disease and sickness, occur where people live, work and play,” Dr. Bonita Stanton, founding dean of the school, said.
Students enrolled in the program will have the opportunity to complete their residencies at one of HMH’s 17 hospitals. Additionally, the curriculum will help future physicians navigate major changes in health care that are underway in the United States, including the shift from fee-for-service medicine to value-based care.
“Our rigorous academic curriculum combines traditional science with a focus on the new frontiers in medicine – prevention, population health, genetics and team-based care delivered in the community setting,” Mary Meehan, interim president of Seton Hall University, said.
