St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center

Chobanian & Avedisian SOM-St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center (SEMC) FAQ

General questions:

Is the agreement with Steward or St. E’s? The agreement is with Steward leadership but involves only SEMC.

When does the agreement take effect? The agreement is effective July 1, 2021. The terms of the agreement will be implemented over five years, some as early as the first three months and other aspects will begin in years two or three.

What does this agreement mean? The affiliation between SEMC and Chobanian & Avedisian SOM will bring an enhanced, innovative education and clinical model to SEMC with the goal of optimizing patient care. Chobanian & Avedisian SOM will expand its clinical rotations for MD, PA, Mental Health and Genetics Counseling students, accrual onto clinical trials, and expanded research collaborations.

A key component of the partnership is to grow and optimize services available to the community. In addition, the partnership will rebrand the hospital as “St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, A Boston University Teaching Hospital.”

How will the transition occur? Faculty and staff who serve on implementation committees will begin to organize the collaborations.

Why did St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center choose Boston University as its partner? In addition to being one of the nation’s highest-ranked medical schools, the mission and vision of Chobanian & Avedisian SOM is deeply aligned with those of SEMC. The School’s commitment to compassion, excellence, innovation and diversity are hallmarks of the type of care that SEMC is committed to providing to its patients.

Why is Steward Health Care/St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center doing this? Steward Health Care has always been committed to championing the best in health care for patients in the communities where they live and work. Through this partnership, they are able to open access to academic-based, tertiary level care to patients in communities across Eastern Massachusetts and beyond.

As a physician-led organization, Steward is committed to excellence in medical education and training the next generation of physician leaders. The partnership with Boston University is the latest example of Steward investing in local communities, as St. Elizabeth serves as a top destination for patients throughout Eastern Massachusetts who need highly specialized care at a sustainable price.

What are the benefits of expansion at SEMC? Does this arrangement include our PA, mental health counseling and genetic counseling students from Graduate Medical Sciences? The affiliation will strengthen SEMC’s clinical and research collaborations with our Chobanian & Avedisian SOM faculty. Chobanian & Avedisian SOM will expand our clinical rotations for MD, PA, Mental Health and Genetics Counseling students, accrual onto clinical trials, and expanded research collaborations.

What is the SEMC patient population? What are its areas of expertise? Founded in 1868, SEMC is a 308-bed tertiary care facility located in Boston’s Brighton neighborhood that provides a full range of medical specialties, including family medicine, cardiovascular care, women and infant’s health, cancer care and orthopedics. SEMC physicians are regularly recognized as some of the top in the region, and the hospital’s cardiac surgery program is consistently recognized as one of the best in the United States.

Does SEMC have a history of teaching? An academic structure and background? Yes. SEMC has hosted medical students for more than 100 years and currently has robust residency and fellowship programs across 11 specialty areas.

Chobanian & Avedisian SOM currently has clerkships in OB/GYN, psychiatry and neurology at SEMC. And we plan to expand these rotations and add internal medicine, surgery and radiology.

What is the meaning of the BU-SEMC agreement with regard to the collaborative relationship BMC has with Chobanian & Avedisian SOM? As per the quote by Dr. Ravin Davidoff, BMC’s CMO, in the BU Today article, “This is an exciting development for BUSM students and faculty. This academic affiliation offers students and faculty immediate opportunities for teaching and research collaborations and sets the stage for mutually beneficial opportunities across all of BUSM’s affiliates, especially BMC.”

For Students:

What does this arrangement mean for our students, in terms of education and experience? Additional students will be able to do more of their clerkships in Boston, at a hospital committed to education that can be reached by public transportation. SEMC has excellent cardiovascular surgery, sports medicine, psychiatry, and other specialties.

When will more students start rotating at SEMC? We will be increasing the numbers of third-year medical students over the next three years.

Are residencies part of the agreement? We do want to encourage the strongest possible residencies at SEMC to enhance the educational experiences of our medical, PA, mental health and genetic counseling students.

For Faculty:

Will SEMC clinicians receive faculty appointments at Chobanian & Avedisian SOM? About 25 SEMC clinicians who teach the Chobanian & Avedisian SOM students who rotate there already have Chobanian & Avedisian SOM faculty appointments. When we expand the clinical rotations, more will be needed.

Will SEMC providers become part of the Boston University Medical Group? No. SEMC faculty will be more like our VA and Kaiser faculty who teach the many students who rotate through clinical clerkships at the VAs and at Kaiser. They will have faculty appointments but will not be in the BUMG.

What faculty development opportunities will there be for SEMC clinicians? Our faculty development programs are open to all Chobanian & Avedisian SOM (and BUMC) faculty. Our clerkship directors and our assistant dean for medical education for affiliated sites currently provide faculty development for faculty at our affiliated hospitals.