UIW Officially Opens School of Osteopathic Medicine

Hundreds join to celebrate historic day in San Antonio

San Antonio – Amidst great fanfare and with at least 500 guests joining the celebration, the University of the Incarnate Word officially opened its School of Osteopathic Medicine (UIWSOM). San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert and Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran joined UIW Acting President Dr. Denise Doyle, School of Osteopathic Medicine Founding Dean, Dr. Robyn Phillips-Madson, Congregational Leader of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, Sr. Tere Maya CCVI and other members of the San Antonio and UIW community in cutting the ribbon on the $50 million state-of-the-art facility.

"Today’s grand opening of the School of Osteopathic Medicine continues the Mission of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word which began so long ago. Today’s celebration is the culmination of years of hard work from members not only in the UIW community but from throughout San Antonio and South Texas,” said Doyle.

“What a blessing it has been to be part of the amazing UIW team which has built this School of Osteopathic Medicine and is welcoming our inaugural class of students next Monday. We are grateful to be situated in this historic and vibrant community, and look forward to working with our many partners and positively impacting the health of the people by in this region now and in the years to come,” said Phillips-Madson.

UIWSOM, located at 2510 Kennedy Circle, is on the Brooks campus (formerly referred to as Brooks City Base) and is the anchor of the area’s public-private revitalization project. The 155,000 sq. foot facility is home to 45 faculty, 40 professional staff and 150 students comprising the School of Medicine’s inaugural class. The facility features large interactive learning studios, a state-of-the-art structures lab (anatomy, histology, pathology, embryology and imaging), ultrasounds for clinical and laboratory use, interactive multi-purpose learning spaces, a simulation suite consisting of four simulation rooms, and a demonstration kitchen for medical education and community education. It also features a 12-room CIELO (Clinical Inter-professional Experiential Learning and Observation) which includes both the simulation suite and the clinical area where standardized patients present with various symptoms to medical students. UIWSOM is training primary care osteopathic physicians to meet the health needs of Central and South Texas, particularly underserved and vulnerable populations. It is the only faith based osteopathic school in Texas and the only faith-based medical school in Texas.  It is the sixth Catholic medical school in the U.S.

UIWSOM is UIW’s fifth health professional school. The others are the Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing and Health Professions, Feik School of Pharmacy, Rosenberg School of Optometry and the UIW School of Physical Therapy.

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CONTACT:    Margaret Garcia, associate director communications and marketing, (210) 829-6001, mlgarci2@uiwtx.edu