HAGERSTOWN, Md. — The Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine announced that CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (CareFirst) has awarded the school a $400,000 grant to support student scholarships.

The Long-Term Programmatic grant will provide $100,000 annually through 2027, funding four partial scholarships for the 2026-2027 academic year. Scholarship recipients will be selected based on merit, including academic performance and MCAT scores.

“Meritus Health’s goal in creating the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine is to fill the need for physicians in our region and across the state,” said Brian Kessler, D.O., dean of MSOM. “Studies show that physicians tend to set up practice within 100 miles of where they’ve trained, so these scholarships provided by CareFirst are helping us meet our goal.”

“Education is a powerful tool and a significant driver of better health outcomes,” said Dr. Bryan O. Buckley, Head of Public Health at CareFirst. “By partnering with Meritus, we’re investing in the next generation of clinical professionals to meet the growing need for physicians across our region and state. Many of these students will bring their knowledge and passion back to our communities — contributing to a stronger, more responsive healthcare system.”

MSOM welcomed its inaugural class of more than 90 students, the class of 2029, in July. Future classes will number 180 students, meaning there will be 720 future doctors enrolled when MSOM is at capacity.

Students are instructed by experienced and well-trained professors in the D.M. Bowman Academic Hall on the Meritus Health campus near Hagerstown. In addition, students are housed in one- and two-bedroom units in the Meritus Commons housing complex, adjacent to the campus.

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Meritus Health, Western Maryland’s largest health care provider, is located at the crossroads of Western Maryland, Southern Pennsylvania and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The mission of Meritus Health is to improve the health of the region by providing the best healthcare, health services and medical education. As an anchor organization for the community, Meritus has more than 4,000 employees and serves more than 200,000 residents of the tristate region through Meritus Medical Center, Brook Lane Health Services, Meritus Medical Group, Meritus Home Health, Meritus Equipped for Life, and the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine. More information can be found at www.MeritusHealth.com or visit our Facebook page or LinkedIn page.