If preliminary plans to open a medical school in Bristol, Tenn., are successful, the Interstate 81 corridor between Roanoke and Tennessee will have gained three new medical schools in less than a decade.

King College announced plans Thursday to develop a four-year doctor of medicine program that would help to address physician shortages in the five bordering states, including Virginia.

The plans follows in the footsteps of the Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine, which opened in Blacksburg in 2003, and plans for the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute slated to open in Roanoke in 2010.

If King College's plans are successful, school officials said the first class would be enrolled by 2012 and the capital costs would be about $70 million. The school is still seeking donors and partners.

"We believe a new medical school will not only provide much-needed health care for more than 10.5 million residents in a five-state area, but will also have a far-reaching, trickle-down effect on economic development across our region for years to come," said Gregory Jordan, president of King College, in a news release.

Similar to the osteopathic medical school's mission, the King College plan includes a focus on placing new physicians in medically underserved areas of Appalachia.

But, although VCOM focuses on primary care, King College said it would seek to train doctors in specialty areas, said LeAnn Hughes, vice president of marketing and development at King College.

"We're really hoping if this moves forward, we're going to be able to collaborate with others in the area," Hughes said. "Ours will be a complement to them so that we will meet the needs of the community and region."

Collaboration must happen in order for King College's plan to succeed, said Paul Umbach, president of Tripp Umbach, a consulting firm that specializes in medical education planning.

"New medical schools won't make it if they are in competition with an existing medical school," Umbach said. "Part of challenge in the King project is making sure it is truly collaborative with hospitals and other medical schools."

Leaders at both the Roanoke and Blacksburg medical schools have said they welcome any other attempts to alleviate the shortage of physicians in the region and nationally.

VCOM President Jim Wolfe said, "Competition is for the playing field, not this kind of thing. They are talking about doing what they want to do for all the right reasons as far as I can see."

There's another medical school at East Tennessee State University, about 30 miles south of Bristol in Johnson City, Tenn. Likewise, the West Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine has operated for three decades less than a two-hour drive from Roanoke.

VTC Dean Dr. Cynda Johnson said her program's focus on medical research makes it different from other schools, and she wished King College luck.

U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, said he has had several conversations with Jordan about the potential school and is waiting until he has more answers about the need and how the project would fit in with existing regional schools and proposals.

"I'm taking no position, with regards to another facility until I have the opportunity to have those questions answered," he said.

In 2006, the Association of American Medical Colleges called for the expansion of medical schools. Since then about 90 percent of existing schools have made plans to expand, and nine new schools are in the accreditation process, said Ed Salsberg, director of the association's Center for Workforce Studies.

Salsberg said he also knows of seven other schools like King College that are looking at starting a program. He said the accreditation process helps to determine need and that a school would not be accredited if it couldn't be supported in the community.

"There are a few critical variables that have to be looked at to see if they can sustain it," Salsberg said. "They need faculty and they need enough sites for clinical experiences. As to the oversupply or potential problems of having too many schools, I think it is really the latter that is important."

Hughes said King College is working to develop a partnership with Wellmont Health System and Mountain States Health Alliance.