Gov. Tim Kaine praised Roanoke's planned
medical school as an anchor for Southwest Virginia's
economic development during a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday.
By Sarah Bruyn Jones | The Roanoke Times
The groundbreaking ceremony for the Virginia Tech Carilion
School of Medicine and Research Institute in Roanoke was Wednesday.
Attendees for the ceremony included state senator John
Edwards, D-Roanoke, (from left), Cynda Johnson, the school's dean, and Carilion
vice president Nathaniel Bishop.
Gov. Tim Kaine said Wednesday that health care and education should anchor
Southwest Virginia's economic development and that Roanoke's new medical school will lead the
way.
"It is a worthy project to anchor and give great acceleration to the
economic developing of the community," Kaine said during a groundbreaking
ceremony for the $59 million building that will house the new Virginia Tech
Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute.
Construction crews began initial site work last month on the
154,000-square-foot structure that is being built through a private-public
partnership and paid for with taxpayer money.
Kaine's message was echoed by several others as nearly 300 people gathered
to hail the partnership between Carilion Clinic and Virginia Tech. The new
complex off Jefferson Street
in Southwest Roanoke will give the entire
region a framework for economic development, speakers said.
"We think it will have a significant impact on the economy of the
region and help the quality of life and health care of the region," said
Charles Steger, president of Virginia Tech. He said the school and research
institute should attract high-tech businesses and create new employment
opportunities for those in the Roanoke and New River valleys.
For every dollar spent by a medical school or teaching hospital, an
additional $1.30 in economic activity occurs, according to the Association of
American Medical Colleges.
Based on research expenditures of $366.9 million in 2007, Virginia Tech
ranked 42nd out of 662 universities, according to data released in August by
the National Science Foundation.
Steger said the research institute alone should add another $40 million to
that figure. The university has set a goal of $540 million in research
expenditures by 2012.
The school, which also unveiled its logo Wednesday, calling itself VTC for
short, is a private entity but the building will belong to Virginia Tech and
the Medical Research Institute also will be part of Virginia Tech. The land is
owned by Carilion.
Carilion Chief Executive Officer Dr. Ed Murphy said the partnership also
will lead to better health care for the region. He called the partnership a
critical step in developing a new system for meeting the health care needs of
the community.
Murphy said the lure of a medical school has played a role in recruiting new
physicians and specialists to Carilion as the hospital system converts to a new
clinic business model.
There is also a basic need for physicians, including a statewide shortage.
Even as the medical and health care communities, politicians and business
leaders paused to celebrate getting the project off the ground, those working
behind the scenes said there is a lot of work to do.
The biggest hurdle facing the future of the school is getting the proper
accreditation, said Cynda Johnson, its dean.
With a dozen new standards introduced last week by the accreditation board,
Johnson said the timeline has been somewhat altered but that the school remains
on schedule to be able to open for students by the fall of 2010.
A site visit by board representatives had been tentatively scheduled for
November but will more likely take place in February.
"They've raised the bar," Johnson said. "But all we have to
do is get to work and have everything ready to go."
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