A New School, A New Pipeline — Investing in Rural Health Through Education

On October 17, 2025, Methodist University announced that its new medical school, the Methodist University Cape Fear Valley Health School of Medicine, has received accreditation approval from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) and will begin recruiting its inaugural class in summer 2026. 

It will be the fifth MD-granting medical school in the state and the first in four decades not tied to an existing institution.

We are most excited about the medical school addressing longstanding physician shortfalls in Southeastern North Carolina. A new medical school here is a strategic investment in the provider pipeline, particularly for communities that are underserved or rural.

Opportunity for NC leaders, Woody White and Andrew Heath, recently toured the new facility with Sen. Michael Lee and Sen. Tom McInnis and Michael Nagowski, CEO of Cape Fear Valley Health System. Here are some of the takeaways from the visit.

Why a Pipeline Matters for Rural & Underserved Communities

Rural and underserved areas face several persistent workforce challenges. For example:

• Only about 10% of physicians practice in rural areas, even though roughly 20% of Americans live in those communities. 

• Evidence shows that training physicians in or near rural settings increases the odds they will stay there to practice. 

• Educational and training interventions in rural-oriented pathways (early exposure, rural clinical rotations, “grow your own” programs) are among the most effective strategies to build rural workforce. 

How the Methodist University School of Medicine Can Be a Game Changer

Here’s how this new school can help accelerate rural health workforce gains:

1. Place-based training in underserved settings

The announcement highlights that the new school is “mission-driven … with world-class clinical experiences in underserved areas where students … can make a difference — right away and for generations to come.” Embedding education in the region means students will become familiar with local health needs, community dynamics, and the kind of practice that rural and semi-rural systems demand.

2. Building a local pipeline of students + providers

By recruiting locally, training locally, and practicing locally, the new school creates a path for local students who might have otherwise left the region for medical training – with no guarantee they’d return. Evidence shows rural-background students are more likely to serve rural communities. It also helps shift the “brain drain” effect where talent leaves and seldom returns.

3. Economic & community impact beyond just health care

The announcement also includes an economic impact study which projects the school to generate ~$72 million annually in local spending and nearly 850 new jobs (not including ancillary industries) for the region.  That matters because healthy communities are not only about access to care — they’re about the economic stability and vitality that providers bring to a region: jobs, anchors, networks.

4. Addressing the “why practice rurally” question

Recruitment of physicians to rural areas often struggles due to isolation, fewer resources, and career-path uncertainty. By training physicians in the region, the new school lowers that barrier, allowing students to develop relationships and become comfortable with the local systems.

The Methodist University and Cape Fear Valley Health partnership marks a pivotal milestone. By turning a new medical school into a pipeline for the region, they are helping ensure that future physicians are trained where they are needed most — not far away in urban centers.

For rural health to improve, we must invest not just in infrastructure and clinics, but in people and pathways — in students, in training, in community integration. This announcement is a powerful example of how education and health systems can align to build stronger, healthier rural communities for generations.