Å·ÃÀÈÕb´óƬ

Groundbreaking marks eight years of collaborative vision to train more physicians to work in Å·ÃÀÈÕb´óƬ and beyond.

The , and health systems of Springfield are celebrating their partnership designed to address a critical shortage of physicians in the state and nation by breaking ground for the Patient-Centered Care Learning Center in Columbia. A groundbreaking ceremony held July 9, 2015, celebrated the start of construction for a $42.5 million medical education building at the University of Å·ÃÀÈÕb´óƬ and the new MU clinical campus in Springfield, Å·ÃÀÈÕb´óƬ.

The goal of the project is to train more physicians for Å·ÃÀÈÕb´óƬ by expanding the class size of the MU School of Medicine and adding an MU clinical campus in Springfield. The Patient-Centered Care Learning Center in Columbia is scheduled to open in 2017. MU medical students will begin training at the clinical campus in Springfield in 2016.

“This project will provide more than 300 additional physicians for Å·ÃÀÈÕb´óƬ, add more than $390 million annually to the state’s economy and create 3,500 new jobs,” said University of Å·ÃÀÈÕb´óƬ System President Tim Wolfe.

“Our state and nation are in desperate need of more physicians to serve a growing elderly population, increasing numbers of patients living with chronic illnesses, and many others gaining access to health care through insurance reform,” said R. Bowen Loftin, PhD, chancellor of the University of Å·ÃÀÈÕb´óƬ.

“This expansion of the MU School of Medicine will allow us to attract great students from Å·ÃÀÈÕb´óƬ to attend medical school and then stay in Å·ÃÀÈÕb´óƬ and work in Å·ÃÀÈÕb´óƬ as physicians," said Patrick Delafontaine, MD, Hugh E. and Sarah D. Stephenson Dean of the MU School of Medicine.

“The vision for the building is to create a learning space that reflects our goal of educating physicians to provide effective patient-centered care for the people of Å·ÃÀÈÕb´óƬ and beyond,” said Linda Headrick, MD, senior associate dean at MU School of Medicine. “That is why the building is called the ‘Patient-Centered Care Learning Center.’ This new learning environment will explicitly focus the students’ attention on the people they are preparing to serve.”

More than 90 percent of Å·ÃÀÈÕb´óƬ’s counties lack adequate access to health care professionals. At the same time, Å·ÃÀÈÕb´óƬ ranks among the top 20 states with citizens over age 65, who require more medical care. The number of elderly people with multiple chronic diseases likely will double by 2030.

The groundbreaking marks the fulfillment of a vision shared by MU, CoxHealth and Mercy that began eight years ago when the three organizations began working together to train more physicians to work in Å·ÃÀÈÕb´óƬ and beyond.