Touro College of Dental Medicine (TCDM), which is on the New York Medical College (NYMC) campus in Valhalla, has expanded into New Mexico. Ground was broken for construction of a new facility in Albuquerque. The new clinical facility will be located on the campus of Lovelace Biomedical Research Institute, which also is member of Touro University.
“Touro University is committed to delivering quality education as well as integrity, inclusivity, and respect for all members of our new Touro community in New Mexico,” said Alan Kadish, M.D., Touro’s president. “We provide diverse, innovative and engaging course offerings that nurture personal growth and intellectual inquiry in superior academic programs.”
Touro expects that the project will cost about $40 million, including property acquisition and construction of the dental college. The facility will have 70,000 square feet of classroom and other educational space.
According to the dean of TCDM, Ronnie Myers, D.D.S., “Our mission is to improve oral health care and graduate outstanding dental professionals who deliver excellent health care service to diverse communities. With the first pre-doctoral dental student clinical educational facility in New Mexico, we will provide an opportunity to deliver much needed low-cost oral health care to underserved communities while at the same time expanding local access to New Mexico students interested in becoming dentists.”
Myers said it’s expected that a significant number of graduates will establish practices in New Mexico, filling an existing shortage of dentists in the state compared with other parts of the country.
The New Mexico facility is expected to open in May of next year. TCDM says its students spend their first two years in the classroom studying basic biological sciences, and the last two years seeing patients in clinics. It expects that 100 students from each TCDM class of 200 will do the classroom portion of their training at Valhalla and spend their final two years treating patients from the Albuquerque community in the new clinical facility.
“The arrival of the Touro College of Dental Medicine marks a major milestone in our city’s fight to expand health care options for families,” said Albuquerque’s Mayor Tim Keller. “Not only will it help fill a critical shortage of dental professionals in our community, but our young people will have the opportunity to pursue careers in dentistry right here at home. This first-of-its-kind facility will help build a healthier, more equitable future by expanding access to affordable dental care for those who need it most.”
Approximately 19,000 students currently are enrolled at Touro University’s various schools and divisions at 37 campuses and locations in New York, California, Illinois, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Berlin, Jerusalem and Moscow. New York Medical College, Touro University California and Touro University Nevada, Touro University Worldwide and its Touro College Los Angeles division as well as Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Illinois, are separately accredited institutions within the Touro University system.
