Alice Walton’s nonprofit Whole Health Institute announced plans Thursday to put a new medical school in northwest Arkansas, according to an Arkansas Business report citing a news release.
“The Whole Health School of Medicine will help medical students rise to the health challenges of the 21st century through a reimagination of American medical education that incorporates mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health, the elements of Whole Health, to help people live healthier and happier lives,” Walton said in the news release.
The institute did not say where exactly where it would put the school, but said it plans to break ground on “a new state-of-the-art education and training facility in Bentonville” in 2022. It aims to enroll its first class in the fall of 2024. It said it will seek accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.
The institute did not reveal a total price tag for the project.
The project is related to the billionaire Walmart heir’s Whole Health Institute, a multimillion-dollar center for holistic wellness also planned for Bentonville. Walton and her architect, Marlon Blackwell of Fayetteville, are scheduled to break ground next month on the institutes 75,000-SF multiuse office and community space on the campus of Waltons earlier pet project, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
“The creation of the Whole Health School of Medicine is a step forward in rethinking systems in our society to achieve better health and well-being,” said Dr. Tracy Gaudet, founding executive director of the Whole Health Institute.
The program is allopathic, meaning graduates will receive a doctor of medicine degree.
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