New medical school celebrates opening

The big picture: The school's philosophy is the "whole health" model that's inclusive of preventive care and overall well-being, including emotional and mental.

• The medical school opened shortly after the building for Walton's nonprofit Heartland Whole Health Institute opened nearby. The nonprofit focuses on health care advocacy, like bringing down health care costs, and also emphasizes the whole health model.

"Our curriculum integrates the arts and humanities with rigorous clinical training … We believe that empathy, self-care and community are not electives in medicine. They are foundations," executive vice dean Yogi Hernandez Suarez said.

Zoom in: The first five cohorts of students are also attending tuition-free. Student Rylie Poling tells Axios the free tuition was a huge factor in her decision to attend school here, but it was one of her top choices regardless because she believes in what they're doing.

• She added that the professors and fellow students have made the school a supportive, non-competitive environment.

Go deeper: Inside the campus