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BMC, Tufts mark 35 years of collaboration

Date: 12/1/2009

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor



SPRINGFIELD -- Dr. Robert Emery Jr. remembers when he was one of the first Tufts University School of Medicine students at Baystate Medical Center (BMC) in the early 1970s there really wasn't anywhere for students to sleep other than the former nurses' dormitory.

He noted with a smile, that building is now "under" one of the more modern additions to the medical center.

Emery was one of the speakers at the anniversary celebration on Tuesday noting the 35th year of the collaboration between Tufts University School of Medicine and BMC.

Congressman Richard Neal called the anniversary "a very important milestone."

Emery graduated in 1973 and is now a practicing cardiothoracic surgeon living in Minnesota. He said his time at BMC was "a great rotation and a great relationship."

The impact of Tufts students spending a year at BMS as part of their medical training has created "a smarter, more diverse student," Emery added.

"It's a clear win-win for everybody," he said.

Dr. Michael Rosenblatt, the dean of Tufts University School of Medicine, called BMC "a special place," and said the education the students receive forms the students' "foundation in medicine and compassionate care."

He said the educational practices founded at BMC have been emulated by the other teaching hospitals associated with Tufts.

Baystate Health President and CEO Mark Tolosky noted that between 35 and 38 percent of the Tufts medical student train at BMC.

Neal also pointed to the economic impact on the region BMC has and that its status as a teaching hospital has been a positive for the area.

Dr. Hall Jenson, the dean of the western Tufts campus and vice president of academic affairs for BMC, noted that about one-third to one-half of the students who train at the medical center stay here in Western Massachusetts.

Current student Gabriela Poles admitted that BMC wasn't her first choice because of the drive from her home in Boston, but said the education and experience is "really worth the drive."

"The education I've received here has been exceptional," she added.