A new medical school that will open in downtown Wichita this summer has received around 1,500 applications for its first class.
The Kansas Health Science Center – Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine will have 85 students in its first class, which begins work in August. Construction on the school is almost complete in the former State Office Building complex at 217 East Douglas.
KHSC president Tiffany Masson and Associate Dean Richard Winslow talked to reporters Thursday during Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple’s weekly media briefing. Masson said Kansas-based students will have the opportunity to do clinical rotation in Kansas and they will have residence opportunities in the state. She said that would create a 60 to 70 percent chance of retaining medical talent in Kansas. The school has 37 faculty members and over 60 employees, and it expects to have around 99 full-time and part-time employees by the time classes begin.
Winslow said the quality of the applicants has exceeded expectations, and there are about 18 applicants for every position in the first class. He said Kansas students make up about 24 percent of the applicants.
The students begin work on August 1st. Class sizes are expected to increase over the next couple of years with a goal of having 170 students for the 2024 class.
The school is part of a complex of buildings undergoing remodeling in downtown Wichita. WSU Tech is planning to open a culinary school in the former Henry’s building at 124 South Broadway, and that school is expected to open in August.
