Ohio University put up a new billboard promoting its medical programs right next to Ohio State University's new crown jewel medical center tower.
The billboard stated that OU is the "Largest producer of primary care physicians in the state," but was taken down recently. There are more remaining billboards promoting the school's rankings for the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and the School of Nursing just up the road on the west side of State Route 315 North after cars pass OSU's campus.
Ohio University spokeswoman Robin Oliver told WOSU the billboards aren't trying to compete with OSU, but the billboards are part of a wider "reputation campaign" by the university.
"We are not buying billboards by Wexner because we're trying to compete with OSU. That is not at all the focus of that location. It's really (about) target audience. We're trying to get in front of professionals that are working in the healthcare space and make them aware of our offerings," Oliver said.
The $1.9 billion, 26-story Wexner Medical Center inpatient tower is finishing up construction this year and is expected to open in 2026. It's seen prominently from both State Route 315 and Olentangy River Road where the billboards were placed.
The other billboards promote Ohio University as a top 50 medical school in the country for primary care and the number one school for nursing. These rankings came from U.S. News and World Report and another college ranking website called Niche.
Heritage College Executive Dean and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ken Johnson said its colleges like OSU and OU are trying to contribute more to the workforce because of a shortage of healthcare professionals.
"That shortage of healthcare professionals in the state and national level is immense. Right now, It's projected between 45,000 and 125,000 new physicians are needed just to fill the current gap. That doesn't include the people that are retiring," Johnson said.
Johnson said 66% of the counties in Ohio are underserved for primary care and nursing right now.
The OSU Wexner Medical Center said in a statement that Ohio State is proud of its innovative educational programs, life-changing biomedical research and extraordinary and compassionate care.
"We are committed to educating the future healthcare workforce to serve the diverse and changing needs of patients and communities. We will continue to partner with our peer universities in the state to best serve the citizens of Ohio," the statement said.
Ohio University's Heritage College sits on three campuses in Athens, Dublin and Cleveland. It includes graduate programs focusing on developing primary care physicians and training doctors to work in chronically-underserved areas.
There are about 1,000 graduate students in the Heritage College each year and about 3,747 students each year in its undergraduate and graduate nursing program.
Ohio State University, by comparison, also offers a wide range of health-related majors in its College of Medicine and College of Nursing. According to its 2024 spring enrollment report, OSU has more than 1,000 graduate College of Medicine students and almost 2,000 graduate and undergraduate nursing students.
Oliver said marketing campaigns like this help the state, potential partners, state leaders, parents and families, and potential students to know about OU's leadership in this academic area.
"Athens is a little bit of a destination campus. It's not one that you would just drive by on your way to something. And we realized that the state of Ohio, where we are providing a huge number of health professionals on an annual basis, is not necessarily aware of our leadership in this space because it's really grown over the last 10 to 15 years," Oliver said.
The marketing campaign also includes digital and broadcast elements across the state. OU also placed advertisements in Cincinnati near the medical campuses for the University of Cincinnati.
Johnson said 95% of Heritage College students come from the state of Ohio and 70% of students match to an Ohio-based residency program upon graduation. He said the students get trained in community hospital settings with a focus on primary care and a focus on keeping them in Ohio.
"We know that if you draw students from the community, train them in the community and then have them matched to a residency on the medical side, the likelihood that they're going to practice in the community is very, very high," Johnson said.
Johnson said 80% of Dublin campus students are from a one-hour radius of the campus and a "hefty" number of them — about 35% — matched to a residency inside of the I-270 belt.
Johnson also said Heritage College wants to stay true to addressing healthcare issues in Ohio. He said he is thankful for the work OU's marketing team has put in.
"We've grown so much, so fast, that previously if you said 'tell us the story about Ohio University,' I don't know how you would say that we have the largest medical school in the state, one of the largest health sciences programs in the nation and then all these other rankings. So we really appreciate Robin's work with us to really just tell the story of what it is that we're trying to do," Johnson said.
