New Kaiser Permanente Medical School Opens In Pasadena
PASADENA (CBSLA) – Healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente is launching a new medical school in Pasadena Monday.
The Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine at 98 S. Los Robles Ave. is beginning with an inaugural class of 50 students.
Last year, Kaiser said that it would be waiving all four years of tuition for its first five graduating classes.
The four-story building includes a rooftop garden with meditation, yoga and fitness areas. The building has "flexible, open classrooms," Kaiser said in a news release.
The school also has an Anatomy Resource Center which will use AR/VR, plastination and imaging to replace traditional cadaver dissection.
Students will do their clinical work at Kaiser hospitals and clinics throughout the region.
"It's a challenge," said Walter Harris, the school's senior vice president of administration and finance, about opening the school during a health crisis.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the school to make adjustments, including adopting a "hybrid model" that includes in-class and virtual programs and more frequent cleaning, Harris said.
Harris said some classes could be held with some students in one classroom and others watching from another classroom via Zoom videoconferencing.
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