Tennessee-based Lincoln Memorial University’s DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine announced June 6 it is expanding to a campus being developed in Orange Park.
Applications are being accepted for the first cohort of 100 students that will begin classes in fall 2026 at the new campus at 335 Crossing Blvd., south of Wells Road between Blanding Boulevard and Roosevelt Boulevard.
Lincoln Memorial University bought the office building there along with a neighboring building and land in 2022 for $12 million. The two buildings total 135,524 square feet on a 12.89-acre parcel.
The college said in a news release it will offer a full-time academic and clinical program identical to its sister campuses in Harrogate and Knoxville, Tennessee.
Graduates will receive a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree and upon graduation they will be prepared to deliver patient-centered care in a variety of medical settings.
“We are growing partnerships with local physicians and clinics to educate the next generation of physicians to live, train and then work in the community to ease the burden of the looming physician shortages in Florida, and particularly Clay, Putnam, St. Johns, Duval and Nassau Counties,” Orange Park campus Dean Dr. James Toldi said in the release.
“We want to place students in the areas of greatest patient needs so they can learn to appreciate the care these populations need. We aim to be great partners in the community, driving economic and health prosperity for our neighbors.”
The Lincoln Memorial University-College of Veterinary Medicine at Orange Park also is planned for the campus. It is seeking accreditation and anticipates starting the first cohort of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine students in June 2026.
LMU says it was founded Feb. 12, 1897, as a living memorial to Abraham Lincoln. In fall 2024, it had 1,668 undergraduate and 4,413 graduate students at its Harrogate campus.
Second medical school
The medical school in Clay County will be the second to begin classes in 2026.
Construction of Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine at Jacksonville University began March 26 at the JU Medical Mall north of the main campus in Arlington. Classes are scheduled to begin in July 2026.
The partnership between JU and LECOM was announced in November 2022. LECOM is investing $50 million to build and operate a four-year medical school on 9.87 acres along Dolphin Point Boulevard it bought March 21 for $5.22 million.