The University of Scranton's new Loyola Science Center helps make the school a good match for the Commonwealth Medical College as the institutions pursue plans for an affiliation.

When the group that founded the Commonwealth Medical College first announced the project in 2005, one of the major questions in the community was why it was not affiliated with a university, especially the University of Scranton.

Independent medical schools are relatively rare. For financial, academic and practical reasons, most are tied to universities and many of those include "teaching hospitals."

Many people saw the University of Scranton as a natural partner for the medical school because of its strong pre-med program.

TCMC pressed on independently, pioneering a community-based, rather than university-based model as it built its spectacular headquarters on Pine Street, at the edge of downtown Scranton.

Disadvantages of that independence soon became obvious, however. The school had no parent organization and no alumni. After the state government, Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania and a core of generous private donors funded the initial development, TCMC was placed on probation by its accrediting body because of financial uncertainty - a period it has been able to navigate largely because of an ongoing commitment from Blue Cross.

Now it appears that the affiliation that seemed a natural from the outset finally might happen. The medical school and the university formally agreed recently to examine an affiliation that might make even better sense now than it would have back in 2005.

In the interim, the University of Scranton has established a joint graduate major with the medical school and it has constructed an $80 million science center. It also brings to the table its academic reputation, which would be enhanced through a medical school, a national alumni association and significant fund raising capability.

An affiliation would be a tremendous development for the two institutions and the region. TCMC already has begun to play a role in improving the region's health care quality and access, and it is a key to creating a larger knowledge-based component to the region's economy.

The university long has been a major player in the regional economy. That will increase with its growing emphasis on research, which would grow further through a medical school affiliation. Because of the extraordinary work by the medical school's developers, the university would not have to build the institution from scratch.

Meanwhile, two major hospital groups that have relationships with TCMC have become the biggest players in regional health care delivery. Community Health Systems of Franklin, Tenn., has purchased the former Mercy Hospital and Moses Taylor Hospital and their related institutions, and Geisinger Health System has expanded its presence with its acquisition of the former Community Medical Center. Both groups have vowed to invest scores of millions of dollars in the region.

All of those developments hold the potential to make health care, medical education and research-based related developments new drivers of the region's economy.

A TCMC/University of Scranton affiliation is a complex undertaking. The region will benefit enormously if they can pull it off.

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Health for med school and regional economy