Construction begins for Dothan medical school

The college will be a four-year medical school affiliated with SAMC in Dothan that will focus on establishing and maintaining primary care in rural communities.

A class of 150 students could begin study in a 100,000 square-foot instructional facility as early as August 2013.

"Sixty out of 67 counties in Alabama need primary care physicians and all but two are federally listed as medically underserved areas. This medical college will positively impact access to much needed primary care in these rural communities," said Owen.

Establishing primary care physicians who choose to practice in Alabama is of the utmost importance, Houston County Health Care Authority board member Dr. Charles Connor said, because the state could face an estimated physician shortage of 100,000 by 2020.

"This is a culmination of a dream that is coming true that we have been working on for many, many years," Bentley said.

The problem of a need for more physicians in Alabama is something Bentley worked to address even as a state representative. An answer to the problem was influenced while he was practicing medicine in Tuscaloosa and met two resident physicians who were attending an osteopathic medical school.

"They were the best residents we had," Bentley said.

Bentley worked with other physicians and medical officials to investigate the influence osteopathic education was having in the medical field.

What he found was a field of doctors who were learning to care for the doctors and were willing to stay in the areas they were educated, he said.

Thank you for being brave and standing up against the odds, Bentley told the crowd. "You will see, in the years to come, the results from that bravery. It is going to mean so much for Southeastern Alabama."

Some benefits could soon be felt in the local economy, according to college officials.

ACOM is predicted to have an economic impact on the state of about $295.7 million by 2030 and add 1,935 jobs.

An ACOM press release states, "Research activities associated with ACOM will result in the formation of startup institutions and businesses, leading to an economic impact of approximately $25 million by 2030."

Lenz, founding dean of the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine, choked back tears mere moments before officials prepared to break ground at the site of the future college.

"I'm so proud to be here and to live in Dothan," he said. "We are going to have doctors teaching doctors."