The Marshall University School of Medicine was established in the 1970s through federal legislation, known as the Teague-Cranston Act, that authorized the creation of five new medical schools in conjunction with existing VA hospitals. The West Virginia Legislature appropriated funding for the school in 1975. The Liaison Committee on Medical Education granted provisional accreditation in 1977, and the first class entered in January 1978.
From the 1980s through the early 1990s, the medical school greatly increased the scope and depth of its clinical services. Initially, outpatient care was provided by medical school faculty physicians through the Family Care Outpatient Center, which was located in the former C&O Hospital on Sixth Avenue in Huntington. The family care center evolved into John Marshall Medical Services, Inc., and was later renamed University Physicians & Surgeons, Inc., in 1994.
By the mid-1990s, the need for new and expanded clinical space became clear. Beginning in 1998, Marshall opened three new multi-million dollar outpatient health care facilities—Marshall University Medical Center, Erma Ora Byrd Clinical Center and Edwards Comprehensive Cancer Center.
In 2012, the highly-qualified health care providers of Marshall University’s Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, became collectively known as Marshall Health. Our providers care for patients at more than 40 locations throughout southern West Virginia, southern Ohio and eastern Kentucky. Offering the latest in multi-disciplinary care, Marshall Health is the largest, most comprehensive health care provider group in the region.