University of Missouri-Kansas City Medical Education Building for Regional Rural Campus Abstract The funds from this allocation will be used for the construction of a medical education building for the UMKC School of Medicine regional rural campus located in St. Joseph, Missouri. The Project Director is Michael Wacker, PhD (email: wackerm@umkc.edu; address: 2411 Holmes St. Kansas City, MO; phone: 816-235-6069). This proposal fulfills the congressional approved directive that the funds be used for the “construction of an expansion of the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) St. Joseph medical school campus at Mosaic Medical Center.” The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Medicine was founded in 1971with emphasis on early clinical experiences, small group learning communities centered around a physician mentor, primary care experiences, integration of basic sciences, humanities, and clinical medicine, and addressing the physician shortage of Missouri. The curriculum at the School of Medicine allows students to obtain clinical skills, medical knowledge, professionalism, humanism, and skill sets to create new knowledge. The UMKC School of Medicine Kansas City campus is located in the Health Sciences District that is home to or in proximity to numerous hospital affiliates (including University Health, St. Luke’s Hospital, Children’s Mercy Hospital, Missouri Department of Mental Health, Kansas City Veteran’s Administration, and Research Medical Center) as well as UMKC Schools of Dentistry, Pharmacy, and Nursing. The School of Medicine has over 1800 clinical, biomedical, and research faculty distributed across all affiliate hospitals and UMKC SOM sponsors more than 35 postgraduate residency and fellowship programs. There are currently over 600 medical students attending the Kansas City campus. In addition to its critical mission in the heart of Kansas City, the School of Medicine intentionally expanded medical student enrollment i
n 2020 to increase the number of physicians practicing in rural parts of Missouri to address a critical void and reduce healthcare shortages. In 2020, a UMKC SOM regional campus was started in St. Joseph, Missouri in collaboration with Mosaic Life Care. Mosaic has one of the largest private rural primary care networks in the nation and is the only tertiary care hospital between Kansas City and Omaha. Since 2020 the School of Medicine St. Joseph campus has accepted approximately 40 students with the goal that these students would spend their four-year education at that campus and train in the surrounding rural, tribal, and medically underserved communities. Within the next two years, the program will expand to 80 students and in order to accomplish this mission, it is critical that a new medical education building be constructed to support the training needs for these students. Thirteen million dollars in congressionally directed funds initiated by Senator Blunt were allocated for this goal. The information contained in this proposal details how these funds will be used over the course of the next 3 years to construct a two-story building located near Mosaic Hospital in St. Joseph, Missouri. It will contain patient simulation space, small and large group learning areas, laboratory space, faculty and staff offices, and state-of-the-art lecture facilities. This building will be the central hub for the UMKC School of Medicine educational activities for the four-year regional campus and will be a vital component to providing more physicians to rural parts of the state and region.