SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA) – Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) is partnering with the United States military’s Southern Command.

According to leaders at VCOM, the college’s mission is to be globally minded and community focused to meet the needs of rural and medically underserved populations. With a new agreement recently signed into place, that mission will be pushed further into action.

Honduras, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic are three countries in which VCOM has rooted its medical operations in to help underserved communities.

“We have agreements with the ministers of health and with the governments of these countries,” said Dr. Matthew Cannon, Dean of VCOM-Carolinas. “We go in once every three months with students and provide continuity of care.”

The college’s effort is something that the U.S. Southern Command, also known as SOUTHCOM, has recognized.

“This is an entire area of the world that the U.S. military partners with to help insure freedoms, to provide aide in a time of need, and to provide protection when necessary,” said Dr. Cannon. “SOUTHCOM has a promise. It’s called an enduring promise and it’s to serve and care for individuals in these countries. These are partnering countries with the US military. So, they go down and provide humanitarian aid and medical needs.”

Therefore, a new partnership evolved between the two to enhance the medical care and wellbeing of those residing in the Latin American and Caribbean regions.

“By partnering with VCOM and our current presence and infrastructure, it just helps to further enable the amount of care medically and humanitarian that can be provided,” said Dr. Cannon.

Each year, VCOM students are given the opportunity to further their clinical studies on missionary trips to the southern region.

With the signing of the new memorandum of understanding, students will now work together in partnership with the military while continuing their studies and providing medical aid.

“Having this ability to partner side-by-side with SOUTHCOM allows them to see first-hand what the military is truly doing in these areas and these countries,” said Dr. Cannon.

The missionary trip is something students like Anna Morgan said is an eye-opening experience.

“To have the opportunity to come help them and then to also see just how blessed we are here in America; you don’t just walk around and see situations like that,” said Anna Morgan, a fourth-year medical student at VCOM-Carolinas,” Being able to see first hand that you can make a difference is very encouraging.”

While the trips have taken place in the past for students at VCOM, they will now continue alongside the U.S. military’s Southern Command.

“Now, by partnering with the military and working side-by-side, it just enhances the quantity and quality of care that can be provided to these countries,” said Dr. Cannon.

According to the medical college, the memorandum of understanding will provide a framework that is expected to enhance students’ learning for their career in medicine.