THE Visayas State University will soon have its College of Medicine after Republic Act 11974 was signed into law last December and took effect on January 4, 2023.

VSU said that the establishment of the college will help address the medical needs of the province of Leyte and the Eastern Visayas region, with the localized production of healthcare professionals.

“The local government of the City of Baybay and the whole VSU community welcomed this development with a positive response, especially since this is the first of its kind in the whole province,” VSU said on its website.

“With the growing need for more medical education programs in the country because of the effects of the COVID-19 global pandemic, there is also a pressing need to nourish and build up local communities’ capacity to produce home-grown medical doctors who can serve the immediate needs of people from the grassroots,” it added.

With the law, VSU will be able to offer the Doctor of Medicine and Integrated Liberal Arts and Medicine programs.

The university also said that the establishment of the college is one of the priority legislations of Leyte 5th District Congressman Carl Nicolas Cari, in a bid to make Baybay City a central hub of healthcare services in Leyte as hospitals have just been built in the city.

A feasibility study and benchmarking activities will also be conducted by VSU, in compliance with the requirements of the Commission and Higher Education.