The Osteopathic Medical Foundation ("OMF") was founded in 1994, as a nonprofit foundation to perpetuate the osteopathic philosophy and to promote osteopathic medicine in the Michiana region.  This was done at the time Michiana Community Hospital was merging with the Ancilla Health Care System.  Due to the diligence of the osteopathic physicians at Michiana Community Hospital, over $2 million was placed into two funds administered by the OMF foundation.

One fund, containing over half of the assets, was utilized over the next eight years to support the osteopathic family practice residency-training program.  The majority of those monies were used during the time the program was administered at St. Joseph Community Hospital.  Due to limited resources and continued requests for significant monies, the board of the Osteopathic Medical Foundation had to decide whether to become a perpetual foundation or to be self-limited (that is, to give the remaining funds away with no guarantee of continued support for osteopathic postgraduate education). The board determined that it was in the best interest of the local osteopathic medical community to redirect the utilization of its resources.

In 2003, the Osteopathic Medical Foundation created the Forgivable Loan Program.  This program is designed to provide up to four annual $5,000 loans to osteopathic medical students  who desire to return to the Michiana area to practice medicine.  In exchange for practicing within a 60 mile radius of South Bend, 25% of their loan will be forgiven for each year they are in practice.

An ongoing OMF major objective is to promote osteopathic medicine throughout the community.  OMF uses a variety of promotional efforts such as public service announcements,  radio advertising, osteopathic medicine information displays set up at area hospitals, advertising in area newspapers and on TV, promotional printed T-shirts, sponsorship of local events and promotes National Osteopathic Medicine Month each year.  We have created an OMF website and have the capability to link osteopathic physician's personal websites to OMF's.

The Osteopathic Medical Foundation continually  seeks volunteers (D.O.'s) willing to go to local high schools and colleges to speak about the benefits of osteopathic medicine and encourage student interest in the osteopathic profession as a potential career.

Another ongoing goal of the foundation is to establish a dual certified family practice residency-training program.  Negotiations continue with St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in South Bend regarding this endeavor.