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LARKIN HEALTH SCIENCES INSTITUTE RECEIVES PROVISIONAL LICENSE TO OFFER A POSTBACCALAUREATE DEGREE IN BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES

Dr. Jonathan Coffman Will Serve As Founding Dean

South Miami, Florida, February 3, 2014 - - Larkin Community Hospital (LCH), one of Florida’s twelve statutory teaching hospitals and the largest osteopathic teaching hospital in the nation, has hired Jonathan Coffman, Ph.D. as the Founding Dean of the College of Biomedical Sciences.  The College will offer a Postbaccalaureate Biomedical Sciences Degree and help to prepare students for entry into doctoral level health science programs such as medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and others.  Additionally, some graduates may be interested in careers in biomedical sciences in pharmaceutical and other industries. The College of Biomedical Sciences is one of several colleges that will comprise Larkin University.   Recently, the hospital announced that it had completed the purchase of property in Naranja, Florida, to establish a health sciences campus.  The new campus will include Biomedical Sciences, Nursing, Osteopathic Medicine and Pharmacy in the first phase of development.  The second phase will include a College of Dental Medicine and several other programs.  The new world class college of biomedical sciences will enroll students two to three times per year in an innovative and integrated program that can be completed in one-year full-time or two years part-time.  The College will have a significant focus on inspiring and attracting a diverse student body.

An active teacher and researcher, Dr. Coffman has most recently served as a program director for the Biomedical Sciences program at Barry University. He has also held faculty positions at Palm Beach Atlantic University and Nova Southeastern University.  He earned his Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Tennessee. Dr. Coffman commented, “The opportunity to lead a Postbaccalaureate Biomedical Sciences Program where the students will complete active learning with real clinicians treating real patients in a teaching hospital is amazing.  The graduates will have an experience that is unique compared to other similar programs.”  

Media Contact Kristina Gaddy Mulpura 305-284-7770 Email: kgaddy@larkinhospital.com  

About Larkin Community Hospital: Larkin Community Hospital (LCH) is a 146 Bed Medical/Surgical Teaching hospital. LCH is one of 12 designated Statutory Teaching Hospitals in Florida and the largest teaching hospital for Osteopathic physicians in the United States, offering the largest number of training programs (offering training in 30 different specialties in total). LCH sponsors an allopathic residency program in Psychiatry. In addition, LCH also has a Nursing School (Registered Nurse Associate Degree program). Our hospital is also the home of:

• The Miami Neuroscience Center at Larkin, a state of the art facility which specializes in Gamma Knife Radiosurgery. This 25 member team, led by world renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Aizik Wolf, has performed over 8000 procedures during the past 20 years. Gamma Knife is a non-invasive state of the art neurological procedure used to treat brain tumors, head and neck cancer, and neurological conditions, such as trigeminal neuralgia and Arteriovenous Malformations.
• The Center for Advanced Orthopedics at Larkin, which specializes in advanced orthopedic surgery using the latest multimodal perioperative pain management modalities and state of art technology and instrumentation with advanced robotic technology. The center, led by world renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Carlos  Lavernia, includes an outcomes-oriented robust research component with an ongoing prospective surgical registry and a comprehensive rehabilitation department.

LCH is the only hospital in Miami-Dade County with an Area of Critical Need designation by the Florida Board of Medicine. Our facilities are also a National Health Services Corps (NHSC) site designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The NHSC Loan Repayment Program offers primary care providers the opportunity to have their student loans repaid for serving communities in need. The NHSC Scholarship Program awards scholarships each year to students pursuing careers in primary care. In return, students commit to serving for two to four years, upon graduation and completion of training.

For more information about Larkin Community Hospital, visit www.larkinhospital.com