West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine President James W. Nemitz receives a Fenton Art Glass vase from Wood County Commission President Blair Couch on Thursday as Nemitz appeared before the commission to discuss the school and its presence in the local area. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

PARKERSBURG — Representatives of the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine appeared before the Wood County Commission on Thursday to discuss the state’s largest medical school and its presence in the area.

The school’s main campus is in Lewisburg, but its 10-county Central West Statewide Campus operates from an office at 2803 Murdoch Avenue in Parkersburg. They have been in Wood County for 16 years.

“It is part of our success that we refer our students to the region,” said WVSOM President James W. Nemitz. “We have 46 alumni practicing in Wood County alone.”

The school has around 40 students in the region, with some doing residencies at WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center as well as the Memorial Health System

Commissioner Jimmy Colombo said don’t realize how schools like WVSOM have helped to fill the void of medical professionals in the region.

“They are wonderful people,” he said. “They understand the community and the people from the community.”

The school is interested in talking with students who want to go to medical school, Nemitz said.

“If you come to our school, you can be any physician you want to be,” he said, noting alumni have become neurosurgeons, dermatologists and other medical doctors.

“What we are known for is rural primary care,” he added. “We are a leader in the state and in the country.”

However, Nemitz said there are people who don’t know who they are and he was in the area to raise awareness.

Students spend their first two years on the campus in Lewisburg and the remaining two doing clinical rotations at hospitals and clinics. They divide their students between seven regions in the state.

“We have over 800 students,” Nemitz said. “We disperse around 400 students around the state.”

Students from the state can do their rotations in the area that includes their hometown, where they can build a relationship with the local hospitals and medical facilities.

Six students from Wood County attend the School of Osteopathic Medicine.

For the third consecutive year, graduates-to-be attained a 100% residency placement rate, school officials said in a press release. All 184 members of the Class of 2025 secured jobs as resident physicians upon completing their medical school education. New physicians typically serve in residency programs for three to seven years.

The school’s staff in Parkersburg includes Dr. Marla Haller, regional assistant dean; Director Kelita Deems; and Administrative Assistant Tina Kuhn, who oversee 22 third-year medical students in rotations at Camden-Clark and Marietta Memorial Hospital, according to the press release.

Associate Vice President for Government and External Relations Don Smith said part of their visit to the area including talking to the leadership at both hospitals.

“We are making a difference in health care and that is why I am here,” Nemitz said.

In other business:

* The commission approved a $2-an-hour pay increase for everyone at the Wood County 911 Center. Starting salaries will be $19.50 an hour, which is competitive with dispatchers in Washington County, said 911 Director Dale McEwuen.

Officials also approved an extra dollar an hour for dispatchers who complete their probationary period.

“I believe we have people who really want to do the job,” McEwuen said.

Officials had approved that money for the raises will come from the county’s cable franchise fee.

* The commission approved a two-day alcohol permit for the upcoming River Road Music Festival Sept. 26-27 at Henderson Hall.

Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com.