University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Moving Forward with a New Medical School
The Challenge
Southeastern North Carolina faces a critical shortage of physicians and healthcare providers, particularly in rural counties. Limited access to primary care, specialty services, and mental health professionals has created disparities in health outcomes and placed significant pressure on regional healthcare systems.
How We Helped
Tripp Umbach conducted an independent feasibility study to evaluate the strategic potential for a medical school at UNCW. The study combined analysis of regional and statewide healthcare needs with stakeholder interviews, including health system leaders, educators, and community representatives, and assessed existing medical education infrastructure and clinical capacity. We modeled potential program structures, including a traditional four-year curriculum with an embedded accelerated three-year track, and projected the financial, workforce, and economic impacts of launching a medical school.
The study showed that a medical school at UNCW could have a transformative effect on Southeastern North Carolina. The findings encouraged the UNC system to move forward with a business plan to open the new medical school as early as 2029. By producing physicians trained in primary care, rural medicine, and other high-need specialties, the school would help address critical workforce shortages and improve healthcare access across the region.
The feasibility study positioned UNCW to make a data-driven decision about establishing a mission-driven, sustainable medical education program that delivers lasting benefits to both the university and the communities it serves.