College of Medicine  Appoints
Vice Provost

LECOM Bradenton hires senior level administrators to position for growth.

Bradenton, Florida – The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine has begun laying the groundwork for future academic programs with the addition of three senior level administrators at LECOM Bradenton, the College’s Florida Branch Campus.

Robert Fernandez, D.O., M.P.H., has joined the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) as vice provost of the Bradenton campus.  Fernandez came to LECOM Bradenton from Barry University School of Graduate Medical Sciences in Miami, Florida where he was Director of Community Health and Minority Medicine. 
 

In his new role, Fernandez will oversee all academic programs at LECOM Bradenton.  “In the very near future, LECOM will implement our strategies for growth on the Bradenton campus,” said Silvia Ferretti, D.O., vice-president and provost of LECOM.  “With Dr. Fernandez in place as vice provost we are in the position to move forward with the addition of several academic programs.”

Dr. Fernandez most recently taught public health at Barry University and served on a National Advisory Council as well as grant review committees for the U.S. Public Health Service.

LECOM Bradenton, a branch campus of The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Erie, Pennsylvania, opened in September, 2004 and now has 320 students in two classes.  The Erie campus has a college of medicine, school of pharmacy, and post-baccalaureate program.  When LECOM Bradenton has four full classes, projected total enrollment is 1,600 to make LECOM the largest medical school in the United States.

Osteopathic medicine is a distinctive form of medical practice in the United States. Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) provide all of the benefits of modern medicine including prescription drugs, surgery, and the use of technology to diagnose disease and evaluate injury. Osteopathic physicians are fully licensed doctors practicing in all fields of medicine.  They also offer the added benefit of hands-on diagnosis and treatment through a system of therapy known as osteopathic manipulative medicine. Osteopathic medicine is based on whole-person health care.  The D.O. emphasizes helping each person achieve a high level of wellness by focusing on health education, injury prevention and disease prevention.