THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 9, 1994 TAG: 9412090625
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARIE JOYCE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Change is the one constant in health care these days, and Eastern Virginia Medical School must adapt to survive and prosper, said Edward E. Brickell, president of the school.
To do that, EVMS will affiliate with various specialty practices in Hampton Roads, part of restructuring at the school designed to adapt EVMS to the changing business of medicine.
That is one of the steps Brickell mentioned Thursday evening when he delivered his state of the college address. The speech, the first in two years, attracted about 300 faculty members, board members, administrators and students.
``We need to remind ourselves that we are, first and foremost, a school,'' Brickell said. ``Our fundamental purpose is to produce good doctors.'' Nevertheless, he said, the school must recognize the change in the medical community and ``seek to turn it to our advantage''
During the speech and in a conversation afterward, Brickell declined to discuss the specifics of such arrangements. ``These discussions are delicate in the extreme,'' he said.
He did say the affiliations would be with specialty practices. The doctors in those practices would bring their expertise to improve the school academically in certain subjects.
``We can do certain things well. We can't do everything better than everybody,'' Brickell said.
And they would fill in the gaps in Academic Physicians and Surgeons, the multi-disciplinary medical practice composed of the school's full-time clinical faculty.
In turn, the doctors would gain, among other things, patients through affiliation with Academic Physicians and Surgeons. The practice is being restructured so it can thrive in a medical business that increasingly emphasizes managed care.
Brickell also talked about the school's financial situation. EVMS, he said, has reduced debt and increased savings.
He also said the school has raised $13.5 million of the $62 million it hopes to raise in a five-year capital campaign that started last year. ``We don't really have too many options. We raise the money, or the school gets back into difficulty,'' he told the audience.
Brickell also said the school is enjoying increased prestige. As of Dec. 1, EVMS had received 7,191 applications for 100 slots in the class entering next year, he said. Six years ago, the school got about 1,600 applications, he said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Edward E. Brickell is president of Eastern Virginia Medical School.
by CNB