WYOMISSING, Pa. – From its Gilded Age of industry to its accomplishments on the Reading Railroad, you can add this moment to the annals of Berks County history.
“I know we are all so excited to look ahead to educating the next leaders of medicine and science who will train here,” said Drexel University President John Fry.
Now complete, the Drexel University’s College of Medicine at Tower Health in Wyomissing gets ready to welcome its inaugural class of future doctors.
“This campus will serve as our main clinical location,” said Dr. Charles B. Cairns, Dean and SVP of Medical Affairs, “and serve as the intersecting point of our high-quality medical education, patient care, and service missions.”
Beginning next week, 40 first-year medical students will be filling the lecture halls and classrooms of the state-of-the-art facility, which was built with the future in mind, as every year a new class will begin their medical journey.
“The inaugural class of first-year medical students for this campus was chosen out of 17,000 applications,” said Cairns. “They are truly a talented group of students.”
From the anatomy labs to the spacious lounge areas, students will be forged into tomorrow’s physicians, which will help to curb an expected shortage.
“It is anticipated by the year 2033 -which used to be forever in the future but now we can see it- our country will be facing a shortage of up to 139,000 primary and specialty care physicians,” said P. Sue Perrotty, CEO of Tower Health.
Both Tower Health and Drexel officials say the students, their families and the instructors will eat, shop and live here, paving the way for a new generation to define Berks County’s future.
“You could’ve gone anywhere, and we are thrilled you came here,” said Perrotty to Fry.
