University of Mary Washington, Mary Washington Healthcare Leaders Seek Support for Medical School Plans
It would be focused on meeting the Fredericksburg area's need for more healthcare practitioners.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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The two institutions in Fredericksburg named for Mary, the mother of George Washington, are working together to stand up a “different model” of a medical school that will serve the needs of the community.
Leaders of Mary Washington Healthcare and the University of Mary Washington presented their vision for the new medical school to Fredericksburg City Council during a work session Tuesday evening. It was an early stop in a campaign to solicit local support for the initiative going into the 2026 General Assembly session, UMW president Troy Paino said.
“Initially, I was skeptical as to whether UMW could stand up a medical school,” Paino said. “[But] one thing that’s important is that UMW is the only four-year degree-granting institution in this fast-growing region, and that brings with it a sense of responsibility to serve and meet the workforce needs and help with the safety and economic development of this region.”
He continued, “Each step of the way, as I learned more and more about how this medical school would be very distinctive, I started getting excited. Our mission as a public liberal arts university fits this incredibly well.”
Chris Newman, chief executive officer of Mary Washington Healthcare, described the proposed medical school as a community-based school focused on training physicians who will stay and practice in the area. He contrasted the envisioned model with existing research-oriented medical schools in the Commonwealth, such as University of Virginia’s School of Medicine.
Newman said that only a quarter of graduates from such research institutions go on to practice medicine.
“There’s nothing wrong with being an academic center, but that does not solve the problem we have,” he said. “We’re looking to create a different model.”
The entire country is dealing with a shortage of physicians. The average community has about 80 physicians for every 100,000 residents, Newman said, but in the Fredericksburg area, the ratio is 40 for every 100,000.
“So we’re worse than the average, and the average is bad,” he said. “Anybody here looking for a primary care physician or a certain specialist doctor knows how difficult it can be.”
The graduate medical education program launched by the healthcare system in recent years is part of the plan to address this shortage, Newman said. In addition to family and internal medicine, there are now programs in general surgery and anesthesiology, and programs in cardiology, gastroenterology, and psychiatry are coming, he said.
“We’re hoping that when these programs build out, we will have over 200 physicians training here with the goal of getting the majority of them to stay here,” Newman said.
The medical school will be another way to meet the local and national doctor shortage.
“We have launched a formal feasibility study and it came out very favorably, in terms of the assets of the health system, the resources of the university, and the need,” Newman said. “When we pair this together, it’s imperative that we do this.”
Paino said he’s already calling the new medical school “Mary Washington College of Medicine,” which he joked will please those who graduated from UMW when it was Mary Washington College.
He said the leadership team is asking local jurisdictions for letters or resolutions in support of the endeavor.
“Just having something that we can take down to Richmond to show that the City of Fredericksburg recognizes the acute need and that this is a response to that and that you are excited about it,” Paino said.
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Dr. Paino has been such a positive force for UMW and our community. He does the work. If Dr. Paino supports this it is important and the numbers confirm it.