The Heritage College and OhioHealth strengthen osteopathic manipulative medicine partnership

OhioHealth is leasing space from its longtime partner, the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, a move that will bring expanded specialty healthcare services to the community while also benefitting medical students.

OhioHealth opened a new Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) clinic in Athens on May 12. The clinic, located at the college’s new Heritage Hall on West Union Street on the Ohio University campus, houses 12 exam rooms tailored to the needs of OMM patients. Current OhioHealth OMM practitioner Dr. Nathan Williams will be joined in the new space by Dr. Jennifer Kingery in late July. OhioHealth is actively recruiting an additional OMM physician to serve the community.

“We’re excited to expand our OMM practice, and we know the community is eager for these services,” said Steve Davies, senior director of physicians practice operations for OhioHealth Physician Group’s South Region. “In addition to making OMM physicians more readily available, our patients will benefit from the considerable upgrade in terms of square footage, accessibility and aesthetics of the new space.”

The clinic will also serve as a training ground for Heritage College medical students engaged in clinical rotations. The Osteopathic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine Residency Program (ONMM) will launch next year at this location with the addition of Dr. Kingery, who will serve as the Program Director.

Physicians that complete this ACGME-accredited program will have extensive training and expertise in osteopathic evaluation of neuromusculoskeletal disorders and will be prepared to provide specialized treatment to patients needing their care. In addition, physicians completing this program will be prepared to sit for national board certification in this specialty.

“The new OMM Clinic in Heritage Hall offers an exciting opportunity for our students to advance their skills and understanding of OMM while patients receive needed care. We are very pleased that we will now have a care delivery space on all three of our campuses,” said Dr. Tracy Shaub, interim dean of the Heritage College, Athens.

“It’s a natural progression of OhioHealth’s relationship with the Heritage College,” said Davies. “Area OhioHealth physicians already have dual appointments with the medical school and OhioHealth. The move to Heritage Hall will further integrate these physicians’ teaching and practice missions.”

OhioHealth has been the official practice plan for the Heritage College since 2017 and the two organizations have long been partners in training medical students and residents. OhioHealth provided one of the original training sites for the college when it opened in 1976 and OhioHealth hospitals and clinics have since served as key training sites for medical students and residents. In 2012, OhioHealth and the Heritage College announced an expanded agreement recognizing OhioHealth as the Preeminent Education Partner for the college’s Dublin, Ohio campus, which opened in 2014.

“Ours is a partnership that benefits students and physicians alike. But ultimately, it's Ohioans who win, because every collaboration between OhioHealth and Heritage College is aimed at improving care for our communities,” said Ken Johnson, D.O., executive dean of the Heritage College and chief medical affairs officer for Ohio University.

“We’re proud of this continued collaboration,” said Davies. “We’re so pleased that we are able to align our two organizations in a way that will benefit our community and the next generation of physicians.”