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H E A LT H C A R E / W E L L N E S S V O L . X X I X N O. X X I C onstruction is underway on the University of New England's Harold and Bibby Alfond Center for Health Sciences, a pivotal step in relocating UNE's College of Osteopathic Medicine, or COM, to Portland and establishing a comprehen- sive health sciences campus there. e relocation of the medical school from its original home on UNE's Biddeford campus will allow the univer- sity to admit more students and bring together the health profession programs onto a single, interprofessional campus. e campus is designed so that stu- dents in Maine's only medical school, dental school and physician assistant program can collaborate directly with their peers in nursing, social work, pharmacy, physical therapy, occupa- tional therapy, dental hygiene and nurse anesthesia. "Our health professions students will benefit from amazing new learning spaces in the new facility designed for simulation, standardized patients, and digital health and telemedicine, all of which will help UNE to realize its full potential as a national leader in interpro- fessional health professions education," says UNE President James Herbert. Construction of the 110,000-square- foot building started in November 2022; completion is expected next summer. Goals include teaching best-in-class skills, improving patient outcomes through team-based care, fostering expertise with new and emerging tech- nologies, and expanding cross-cultural competencies. COM origin e origins of UNE's College of Osteopathic Medicine date to 1978, when St. Francis College, a four-year P H O T O / C R E D I T University of New England President James Herbert and Jane Carreiro, vice president for Health Affairs and dean of the UNE College of Osteopathic Medicine, at the construction site of the new medical building on the UNE Portland campus F O C U S S E P T E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 2 3 20 The new building will be much larger and designed for the way medical school is taught today and how we anticipate it will be taught in the future. — James Herbert University of New England P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY MAINE'S MED SCHOOL moves ahead UNE's new College of Osteopathic Medicine campus is designed for the future B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r