NEW ORLEANS — History was made Monday as Xavier University and Ochsner Medical Center signed their partnership into effect. With this new collaboration, New Orleans will soon be home to one of the very few HBCU medical schools.
Xavier Ochsner School of Medicine, or XOCOM, will be the first HBCU medical school in the Gulf South.
Xavier University President Reynold Verret says Xavier was already heading in this direction, as the school has produced more Black students who go on to achieve doctorates than any other school in the country. Now, with its own Medical school, Xavier can take that one step further.
"We looked hard to ask ourselves where is an Xavier education really needed. And this partnership with Ochsner is really helping us to take the next step in making sure we address health inequity," Verrett said.
The newly announced founding dean of XOCOM, Dr. Leonardo Seoane, says the school will address two parts of health inequity: giving more opportunities to Black and Hispanic people to become doctors and fixing gaps in patient care. Seoane says in the United States, Black people make up 14% of the population but only 5.7% of physicians.
"The data gets clearer and clearer with every study, is that when physicians represent the community they serve, they get better health care. That’s better maternal health, better primary care those community's patients live longer," he said.
The school, which will be in Benson Tower, will now seek accreditation, which officials say can take up to a few years. Once they gain accreditation, they'll welcome their first class of 50 students.
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