The former VF Outlets are being transformed into a regional medical campus in West Reading. Reading Hospital, the largest hospital between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, as part of the VF transformation, will now welcome Drexel University College of Medicine at Tower Health to its community.
The innovative partnership will provide a 4-year education to medical students. The campus will be located on the grounds of The Knitting Mills in West Reading. A 20-year agreement between Drexel University College of Medicine and Tower health will expand medical training locally. The two historic organizations, both having been founded in the 1800s, have advanced significantly through the years in areas of technology, education and research. Bringing them together will have a profound impact on not only the community, but also physicians and educators alike. The school will bring teaching opportunities, curriculum and clinical rotations, and emerging physicians. The campus will be about a half-mile from Reading Hospital itself.
Opening with the first class in 2021, students will be able to complete all four years of medical education and training at the Drexel location. This includes the basic science curriculum as well as clinical rotations at Reading Hospital for their entire four years of study. The school will offer the latest technology, simulated patient rooms, labs and much more to enhance and promote the education and skills necessary for medical students to thrive.
Currently, 20 third-year students from Drexel University are working to complete all of their eight core rotations at Reading Hospital in areas such as Ambulatory Medicine, Neurology, Surgery and more. One such student is Reading native Noe Cabella-Rivera.
Noe is a 2011 Reading High School graduate and Valedictorian of his class. He will be completing his clinical training at the Regional Medical Campus. Noe completed his undergraduate degree at Johns Hopkins University. From there, he spent time at Penn State University where he was a research tech in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care before going on in 2017 to study at Drexel. While at Drexel, he was part of the Drexel Pathway to Medical School. This is a one-year Master of Science program. A student has the opportunity to be accepted into the MD program after successfully completing this program along with other academic achievements. Noe has been involved in numerous activities and organizations during his time at Drexel as well. Some of his accomplishments include serving as secretary, co-president and executive board member of the Latino Medical School Association. He has provided academic coaching for first-year medical students, and he served as treasurer and executive board member of LabakCare. This organization aims to provide no-cost preventative health care to improve the health of those underserved in Philadelphia and the surrounding communities. The organization also strives to provide clinics in Haiti and Nigeria. Reading Hospital staff members say they are thrilled to welcome Noe back to the Reading area and be a part of his continued endeavor to become a physician.
With a new state of the art building and a class of about 40 first-year medical students on the horizon, 2021 should bring the Reading area an amazing impact, which will help meet the increasing healthcare needs of the neighborhood.
