In asserting that Maine does not need a new medical school, a recent opinion piece presented an incomplete argument (“Another medical school is not the solution to Maine’s problems,” May 10). Dr. James D.
Herbert suggested that a new medical school would not enhance access to quality care, would be expensive, and would not support retention of young physicians in the state. I believe a few key clinical realities were overlooked. First, with respect to timely access to quality primary and specialty care, particularly in the northern half of the state, a first-rate university medical school would ideally be intimately associated with a university hospital that can attract world-class faculty who are dedicated both to provision of care; to medical education and clinical training; and to research.
Testimony in the Maine Legislature has suggested that an existing tertiary-care hospital, essentially proximate to the University of Maine Orono campus, could be an ideal partner for a medical school-affiliated training site and for expansion of inpatient beds. Peter Pressman , a retired Navy medical officer and former director of educational programs at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine is a health care activist and a resident of Winter Harbor. Second, with respect to medical education and the retention of new physicians, existing and exceptional university programs can be readily adapted to specifically recruit and prepare pre-med students from po.
