Why Should Delaware Care?
For decades, elected officials have tried to build a medical school in Delaware, with often little success. But a recent influx of federal cash has paved the way for the state to open its own medical training program as it faces healthcare provider shortages. With that medical school on the way, the whole state’s healthcare ecosystem is poised to get a piece of the pie, with one major exclusion.
Delaware officials announced Tuesday that the state’s first medical school, funded by hundreds of millions of federal dollars meant to bolster rural healthcare, will be run by Philadelphia-based Thomas Jefferson University.
Jefferson beat out three other bidders – the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), Puerto Rico-based Ponce Health Sciences University and consulting giant PriceWaterhouseCoopers – to win the medical school contract.
Jefferson’s plans include collaborating with almost all of Delaware’s higher education and healthcare institutions to bring a medical school to fruition — with one glaring exclusion: ChristianaCare.
The state’s largest healthcare system had initially attached itself to PCOM’s failed bid to run the Delaware medical school. It remains unclear, however, if the hospital system – which has an existing partnership with Jefferson – will join in on the new venture at a later date.
Gov. Matt Meyer said during a press conference the medical school will “initially” be located at the University of Delaware’s main campus in Newark, and students in the first cohort who commit to practicing in rural Delaware will receive a free medical education.
Dr. Said Ibrahim, dean of Jefferson’s Sidney Kimmel Medical College, said the college will now seek out accreditation for the Delaware campus through the Liaison Committee on Medical Education program, which vets programs leading to medical degrees. He added the new medical school would place rural health at the core of its curriculum.
“More importantly, it will create a stronger, more durable pipeline of physicians who are trained in Delaware, who are connected to Delaware, and committed to serving Delaware’s communities,” Ibrahim said.
Officials aims to open applications for the first cohort of students in early 2027. Accepted students would then begin classes in the summer of 2028.
Tuesday’s announcement marks a historic moment for Delaware, as the state’s first medical school is a project that has eluded leaders for decades.
ChristianaCare sidelined
As part of Jefferson’s announcement, officials said the new medical school would work with a dozen Delaware education and healthcare institutions like the University of Delaware, Delaware State University, Bayhealth and Beebe Healthcare, among others.
Susan Aldridge, the president of Thomas Jefferson University, said this “consortium” of higher education groups and healthcare providers would work with Jefferson to provide its medical education and place students in clinical rotations.
Notably sidelined in that list is ChristianaCare, which already has an agreement with Jefferson where third- and fourth-year students work for the healthcare giant.
When asked about ChristianaCare’s absence from the new consortium, she said the hospital is more than welcome to join. She did not answer whether an invitation was extended or if the hospital declined to be a part of the group.
“We have an inclusive approach to the medical school and to the consortium that we have established here, so if Christiana chooses to join the consortium, they’ll be more than welcome,” Aldridge said.
Christen Linke Young, secretary for the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, said ChristianaCare was attached to PCOM’s bid.
Since the state selected Jefferson, there was “no universe” where it would have been involved in Tuesday’s announcement, she added. Still, Young said the door is wide open for the hospital to be a part of the consortium.
“I think we have no reason to think that they won’t be a part of the process,” Young said.
While Jefferson and state officials signaled their willingness to have ChristianaCare as part of the program, the hospital struck a more defiant tone in a statement to Spotlight Delaware on Tuesday afternoon.
In a joint response from PCOM and ChristianaCare, the two said while they respect the state’s decision, they are disappointed not to be “part of the solution to create Delaware’s medical school.”
The two also said the success of the medical school is not just tied to the higher education institution, but also a “true and committed partnership with its clinical partners.”
“The path forward raises genuine questions about whether the school’s goals can be fully realized without ChristianaCare’s meaningful participation in its clinical training mission,” the statement said.
Federal fund powers school
The state announced in November it would fund 15 programs with money from the Rural Health Transformation Program. The federal program was created to court Republican senators hesitant to support more than $900 billion in cuts to Medicaid, which could disproportionately impact rural communities and their healthcare facilities.
In February, Meyer’s office released an initial batch of requests for potential vendors to carry out programs that will be funded by the federal grant aimed at improving rural health across the country. Some of those bid requests included funding the new medical school, creating a “Food is Medicine” program, as well as operating rural health hubs in Sussex and Kent counties.
It came weeks after the state received its first award from the federal government totaling more than $157 million. The full RHTP award amount for the state remains unclear, but Delaware will receive at least $500 million from the multi-year program.
In plans submitted to the federal government, Delaware budgeted more than $100 million to run its medical school for five years. But Neil Hockstein, chair of the Delaware Health Care Commission, said the signed contract allows Jefferson to run the school for $78 million.
Asked how the state is required to spend the remaining funds, he said Delaware is allowed to reallocate those funds to any of the other 14 programs.
Hockstein added the state intends to spread those leftover funds across multiple different programs instead of reallocating them to just one initiative.
Additionally, Hockstein said when the federal money runs out for the medical school, it would be “self-sustaining without an influx of state dollars.” Still, he said he hopes the state’s philanthropic ventures would help to support the medical school’s future.
“Anything we can do to partner with our philanthropic organizations to make this one of the most cost-effective medical educations, so it doesn’t burden students and families, would be an amazing opportunity to ensure that we attract the best talent,” he said.
Jefferson began talks early
When Gov. Matt Meyer outlined a $1 billion proposal last November to expand rural healthcare access, building a medical school in the First State was a pillar of his plan.
He said the state would seek out competitive bids from universities to ultimately operate Delaware’s first medical school. But a signed agreement from October indicated Delaware was already in talks with Thomas Jefferson University, home to one of Philadelphia’s premier medical schools.
University and Delaware leaders, including Meyer, signed the non-binding agreement two weeks prior to the governor’s announcement that the state hoped to build a medical school.
The agreement, called a memorandum of understanding, was not publicly available prior to the state’s announcement.
In the October agreement, Jefferson said it hopes the partnership will improve access and quality of healthcare in Kent and Sussex counties. The agreement also says the university hopes to build a branch campus of its Sidney Kimmel Medical College somewhere in the state.
“The goal of this collaboration is to establish a phased approach leading to the creation of a four-year medical school in Delaware,” the agreement said.
The agreement, dated Oct. 29, 2025, said Delaware will “provide all necessary and appropriate financial resources for the development, implementation, and sustainability of the branch campus.”
Additionally, the agreement says Delaware will lead development and planning of the school in tandem with other universities and hospital systems.
Jefferson already has a sizable footprint in Delaware’s medical education landscape with clinical and educational relationships with ChristianaCare, Beebe Healthcare and Nemours Children’s Hospital in Wilmington through the Delaware Institute of Medical Education and Research, a program that has connected Delaware medical students with Jefferson and PCOM to receive educations largely in Philadelphia for decades.
At the press conference on Tuesday, Meyer said as the state put together its application for the rural health funds, it had to show the federal government the medical school was more than just an idea. So, it sought out a university to sign onto a non-binding agreement, something he said had “had absolutely no bearing” on the competitive bidding process.
David Lenihan, CEO of Tiber Health, the parent company for Puerto Rican-based Ponce Health Sciences University, said he was disappointed to have not been selected but that he hopes there’s a part for the university to play in the future.
“While we would have liked to win, we’re happy that someone’s going to carry the ball forward, and Thomas Jefferson is obviously a great university,” he said.
