WICHITA, Kan. — Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine at Kansas Health Science Center in downtown Wichita is gearing up for its inaugural class with the addition of four new staff members: Darrell Youngman, DO, professor of internal medicine; Nicholas Palisch, Ph.D., director of student affairs; Francis Fitzpatrick, Ph.D., and Stacy Jones, Ph.D., both faculty in biomedical sciences.

Dr. Youngman currently serves as a staff cardiologist at Newman Regional Health in Emporia, and is a former cardiologist for the U.S. Air Force. In addition to his clinical experience, Dr. Youngman was also chief quality officer and chief medical officer for Via Christi Health System in Wichita. Dr. Youngman went to medical school at the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Worth and had a fellowship in cardiology at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Palisch has spent the majority of his career in higher education, most recently as director of student and alumni services at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He received his Ph.D. in education from Capella University in Minneapolis and is a member of several national higher education organizations.

Dr. Fitzpatrick most recently served as professor of pharmacology and discipline chair at the Trinity School of Medicine in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and as a professor in the department of pharmacology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver. Prior to that, Dr. Fitzpatrick conducted research for institutions around the world from Stockholm, Sweden, to Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Dr. Jones has spent the past 19 years teaching biology at Newman University and recently served as a faculty facilitator for case-based collaborative learning at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita. Her areas of expertise are physiology, microbiology, immunology, human embryology and developmental biology, and cell and molecular biology.

Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine is the first osteopathic medical school in the state of Kansas and will welcome its inaugural class in August. The campus recently underwent construction to transform 116,000 square feet of the iconic building at 217 E. Douglas Ave. in the heart of downtown Wichita and features clean, inspirational design; innovative, state-of-the-art technology and learning spaces; an osteopathic skills training center; standardized patient teaching rooms; large lecture halls; small-group study rooms; a virtual anatomy lab; and much more.

Kansas Health Science Center is part of TCS Education System, a nonprofit, integrated system that works collaboratively to advance institutional sustainability, student success, and community impact.

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About Kansas Health Science Center:

Kansas Health Science Center is a nonprofit organization committed to developing strong, innovative education programs in emerging areas of health care. By opening the Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2022, KHSC strives to positively impact the health landscape in Wichita and the state of Kansas through directly addressing the disparity in access to health care. Learn more.

About Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine:

Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine’s inaugural class will begin in August 2022. Implementing a curriculum that is student focused, patient centered, and community based, the mission of the nonprofit institution is to train the osteopathic physician of the future to provide effective, empathetic, and innovative care to optimize the health of patients and their communities. Located in downtown Wichita, KansasCOM is the first osteopathic medical school in the state of Kansas. Learn more at KansasCOM.org.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Carrie Lindeman

316-393-1076

[email protected]