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Transforming the Region's Healthcare The new Delaware Health Sciences Alliance (DHSA) brings together four of the region's top research, healthcare education and healthcare institutions: Christiana Care Health System, the University of Delaware , Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children and Thomas Jefferson University. "Drawing on the collective strengths and expertise of these four partners, the Delaware Health Sciences Alliance will revolutionize healthcare in the region-and in the process will spur the economy, "said Dr. Robert J. Laskowski, MD, President and CEO of Christiana Care Health System. Central to transforming healthcare in Delaware is DHSA's large health professions complex to be developed on the University of Delaware 's latest property acquisition-the 272-acre Chrysler site adjacent to the UD campus. The complex will include the Jefferson Campus for Healthcare Education, the Delaware Rehabilitation Institute, state-of-the-art bench and clinical research facilities and interdisciplinary translational research centers. New Campus Jefferson Campus for Healthcare Education The Jefferson Campus for Healthcare Education, an extension of Thomas Jefferson University , will, for the first time ever, create a cadre of healthcare students learning and living in Delaware . Medical, pharmacy, nursing, occupational and physical therapy students from Jefferson will attend classes and live either on the campus or in the area. Third- and fourth-year Jefferson Medical College students will have the option of completing most of their training in Delaware -on the campus and at Christiana Care and Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children. With clinical rotations throughout Delaware , including its rural areas, these students will provide underserved regions with a trained workforce that will improve access to healthcare across the entire state. "We are excited by the prospect of the Chrysler site, and look forward to working with our Delaware partners to create a new campus that will expand healthcare education and research," noted Dr. Robert L. Barchi, President of Thomas Jefferson University. Delaware Rehabilitation Institute The Delaware Rehabilitation Institute will be a multidisciplinary research center as well as a site for training and practice. Clinicians, scientists, engineers, and policy makers working together will establish the region as a hub of outstanding rehabilitation medicine. Graduate-Level Joint Degree Programs The campus's new joint MBA programs-a joint MD-MBA and a joint MPH -MBA-will generate a pool of excellently trained policy makers to advance healthcare research and delivery in the region. These programs will be offered through educational linkages between the University of Delaware and Thomas Jefferson University . Research Building on a number of partnerships already established, DHSA will provide a comprehensive, clearly defined framework for collaboration that will stimulate and enhance area research-from bench science through clinical trials to bedside practice. A further strength of the DHSA is the emphasis of all partners in community outcomes, population science and population health. These collaborations will mean access to large multicenter grants that might otherwise be unavailable to the region. Leveraging the centers of excellence at Christiana Care Health System, Jefferson's Philadelphia campus and Nemours/Alfred I.duPont Hospital for Children, DHSA is developing two major interdisciplinary research centers: the Delaware Center for Cancer Biology and the Delaware Cardiovascular Research Center . The alliance is also considering centers in women's and children's health and neuroscience. Healthcare Services Expanded clinical education and training programs and cutting edge research will certainly improve individual patient care in Delaware . But through expanded and enhanced disease prevention and health promotion programs, they will also improve the health of the entire community. Because nearly fifty percent of students end up practicing in the state where they complete their training, these programs will help meet Delaware 's projected demands for quality healthcare services and healthcare personnel to care for its aging population. And the demands will be great. Delaware 's population is aging at one-and-a-half times the national rate. The Economy Building and staffing the new campus will add hundreds of jobs to the economy. Students and faculty and researchers and administrators moving to the area will stimulate housing, retail, service and other sectors of the economy. To take advantage of Delaware 's position at the center of the nation's largest biomedical research and manufacturing corridor, DHSA will work closely with the business community to develop new opportunities for growth in the health sciences. Expanding the area's life science, biotechnical, health and medical services industries will drive the state's economy. And DHSA's education and training programs will provide a workforce qualified to meet that growth, knowing that a high quality health care system will attract high quality companies to the region. |
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