LECOM Meets the Moment Preparedness, Planning, and Prescience Ensure Uninterrupted Training The COVID-19 virus that engulfed the whole of the world causing doctors, nurses, and medics to rush into action to confront the devastating disease and placing on hold almost every country on the map. The momentous and unprecedented travails thrust upon America and the world have been transformative; but through the many challenging weeks, the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) stood strong and stalwart, successfully adapting to the unfolding situation and continuing to serve its students. To be clear, although the pandemic may have caught most of the world unaware, LECOM had been prepared for disaster situations from its very inception.
12 LECOM CONNECTION | SUMMER 2020
As the first LECOM class began its studies in 1993, the College was already converting to digital technologies, implementing a fully hardwired computer system and a highly competent Information Technology (IT) team. LECOM leadership was presciently aware of the changing times, adapting its curriculum and platforms to reflect the burgeoning Information Age. To that end, LECOM class structures were highly digitalized, with the Jenzabar Learning Platform, Polycom Communications, and online examination modalities included as part of normal educational operations. Distance education has long been incorporated into the LECOM curriculum for program disciplines, with
the School of Pharmacy and the Masters Programs utilizing the systems routinely. Add to the mix that early on, LECOM preparedness addressed concerns about hurricane season affecting the Bradenton, Florida campus, resulting in extensive planning for sudden disaster situations. Within its first years of operations, the Bradenton campus endured five hurricanes with no interruption to student education. For almost three decades, LECOM has been training superlative doctors and healthcare professionals, preparing them for the calling of a lifetime and graduating those scholars on time, armed with medical knowledge and
