Celebrating five years of leadership

Celebrating five years of leadership

Oct. 1 marks President John Langell's fifth anniversary at NEOMED. In recognition of this milestone, we're highlighting five of the most significant accomplishments achieved under Dr. Langell's leadership.

A New College

In September 2022, NEOMED announced that it would pursue a fourth college to offer professional dental education. Less than two years later, the Bitonte College of Dentistry received initial accreditation from the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). The decision allows NEOMED to move forward offering a Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.) degree program. The University will welcome the first class of future dentists in the fall of 2025.

New Degree Programs

NEOMED's mission to create transformational leaders has also been advanced with the development of new degree programs addressing unmet health care needs. There is a clear need for health professionals who are trained to handle more and more non-clinical and complex issues in increasingly complex environments. To help prepare future professionals to navigate these changes, the College of Graduate Studies developed several one-year master's degree programs aligned with NEOMED's strategic goal of creating transformational leaders. These programs complement the skills learned in M.D. and other programs and prepare students for the changing health care landscape. In addition, the Master of Medical Science in Anesthesia program was developed in 2021 to address the national need for more certified anesthesiologist assistants (CAA). The first cohort of students graduated in 2024.

Financial Success

At a time when many institutions of higher learning are struggling financially, NEOMED is in a position of strength and growth. Much of that financial strength can be attributed to the introduction of zero-based budgeting and Lean Six Sigma, implemented by Dr. Langell. Within the first year of adopting these processes, the University was able to reduce spending on non-mission-aligned areas, resulting in a savings of more than $3 million.

University Hospitals - NEOMED Affiliation

In June 2022, NEOMED and University Hospitals announced a new affiliation agreement to support the joint aim of developing leadership and deploying a transformational workforce who heal, teach and discover, and care for the underserved populations within Northeast Ohio. The affiliation has led to numerous collaborative programs, including expansion of Executive Education, enhanced research opportunities and expansion of clerkship opportunities for students, among other initiatives.

Vitals

VITALS |Visionary Health Leadership in Action, which launched in 2020 to enliven the discourse, scholarship and actions surrounding health care transformation by showcasing the wisdom and experience of innovative health leaders, was expanded thanks to the collaboration with University Hospitals. The program offers thought leaders the chance to address one of the VITALS topics: Value-based, Innovation, Technology, Advocacy, Leadership and Service.

Health Care Access and Innovation

A key part of NEOMED's mission is to improve health through education, discovery and service. With the opening of the Medical Office Building in 2020, the University welcomed Summa Health to Rootstown to provide clinical services on campus. Two years later, NEOMED Health Care began accepting patients from the University and surrounding community and NEOvations Pharmacy Services began to provide consultation, medication management, vaccinations and other services.

To encourage innovation, the University expanded efforts that began in the REDIzone with the launch of NEOvations Bench to Bedside in which student teams work with mentors to learn the process of medical device design. The new MEDIC - Medical Design Innovation Center - supports the needs of bioinnovators across Northeast Ohio by providing space, tools, know-how and education. REDIzone and MEDIC were developed with support from the Timken Foundation.

Related

• Office of the President