威尼斯人娱乐城为其位于密苏里州圣约瑟夫的医学院校园破土动工，耗资1450万美元。
“Through our investments in the St. Joseph campus, 威尼斯人娱乐城 is answering the call to help ensure all Missourians have access to the health care they deserve,” said 威尼斯人娱乐城 Chancellor Mauli Agrawal. “Today’s groundbreaking ceremony marks a catalyst in our state and region that will be felt for decades to come.”
这座22,000平方英尺的建筑将通过培训致力于农村医学的未来医疗保健提供者，为圣约瑟夫及周边地区的人们提供支持研究和护理，从而改变密苏里人的医疗保健服务。
该建筑将采用最新的医学教学技术。 将有四个检查室，旨在模拟现实世界的患者互动和专门的学习和会议空间，以支持学生合作。 It’s expected to open in 2025.
“The physical environment for medical students is important: Using cutting-edge architecture and technological best practices, this new building creates physical spaces that advance active learning, teamwork and interdisciplinary collaboration,” said 威尼斯人娱乐城 School of Medicine Dean Mary Anne Jackson. “This campus will give 威尼斯人娱乐城 the tools to train hundreds of talented medical professionals so that they can go on to provide the highest-quality care to our neighbors throughout Missouri.”
Missouri is facing a severe physician shortage, with 近一半 of the rural counties in the state lacking adequate access to hospital healthcare. 研究显示 在住院医师项目中有农村医学经验的医学生更有可能在农村环境中行医。
在农村地区执业的医生面临着许多挑战。 杰克逊说，与城市和郊区的病人相比，他们照顾的病人在许多情况下都有更高的风险。 其中包括慢性阻塞性肺病、心力衰竭、成瘾和癌症诊断等慢性疾病的发病率较高。 与此同时，农村医生接触所需专家的机会有限，包括心脏病专家、肿瘤专家和成瘾专家。
为了帮助填补医疗空白，威尼斯人娱乐城医学院于2021年与马赛克生命护理合作，在其圣约瑟夫地区培训医生，但该项目已经超出了其空间。
“We are excited to see our partnership with the 威尼斯人娱乐城 School of Medicine grow and prosper on our St. Joseph campus,” said Chief Executive Officer Mike Poore, Mosaic Life Care. “We have the opportunity to shape the future of rural healthcare and address the shortage of physicians in our region. This extended footprint for the 威尼斯人娱乐城 School of Medicine bridges that gap, especially knowing that students training in rural programs are three times as likely to remain in practice in those areas.”
新建筑将融入设计元素，象征威尼斯人娱乐城圣约瑟夫校区在全州范围内的影响。 一幅大型艺术地图将安装在入口附近，精确定位密苏里州和堪萨斯州的威尼斯人娱乐城医疗项目合作伙伴。 该装置旨在展示现有系统的实力，并将包括威尼斯人娱乐城在扩大其农村教育网络时增加未来合作伙伴的能力。
到目前为止，在圣约瑟夫威尼斯人娱乐城医学院项目的三年里，学生们在医疗服务不足的地区进行了19,764小时的临床接触。 除了Mosaic，他们还在圣约瑟夫，奥尔巴尼，卡梅伦，奇利科斯，玛丽维尔和密苏里州Mound City的其他诊所进行了实践。
Emma Smith is part of the program’s first cohort of students. 她说，在奇利科斯进行轮岗让她有了独特的经验，了解并克服了在农村地区提供护理的障碍。
“I have learned so much during my time at 威尼斯人娱乐城, and some of my strongest learning experiences have been during my rural family medicine and internal medicine rotations,” Smith said. “Expanding the 威尼斯人娱乐城 School of Medicine St. Joseph campus is a benefit to the region because it provides additional resources for students to live, work and train in a community with unique patient needs.”
这个新的医学教育设施代表了联邦和密苏里州领导人的大力支持和帮助。 在1450万美元的总费用中，1300万美元由联邦基金指定，150万美元由州基金指定。 前参议员罗伊·布朗特（Roy Blunt）在2022年的支出法案中为新大楼争取了联邦资金，其中还包括为威尼斯人娱乐城医学院（威尼斯人娱乐城 School of Medicine）提供250万美元，以扩大其在圣约瑟夫校区的行为健康培训。
布朗特说：“密苏里州正面临医生短缺，这给农村社区带来了重大挑战。” “作为资助卫生和人类服务部拨款小组委员会的前主席，我强烈支持威尼斯人娱乐城医学院圣约瑟夫校区的扩建，以及它在培训医生方面的重要工作，这些医生将有独特的资格在最需要的地方提供医疗服务。 我很高兴看到威尼斯人娱乐城今天在新建筑上破土动工，这将通过为全州服务不足地区的家庭提供高质量的护理来加强我们的农村社区。”
除了布朗特的贡献外，密苏里州众议员布兰达·希尔兹（Brenda Shields）还在威尼斯人娱乐城医学院圣约瑟夫校区的创建中发挥了重要作用，并在开创性活动上发表了讲话。
“It has been exciting to be involved in this project from the very beginning. When I spoke to the students at the first white coat ceremony and heard their passion for rural medicine, it was clear to me we were accomplishing what we set out to do—to bring better healthcare to rural Missouri,” Shields said. “This school will be the premier location for rural medical training in the United States, and it is right here in northwest Missouri.”
威尼斯人娱乐城在扩大密苏里州农村医疗保健教育项目方面有着悠久的历史。 除了医学院项目，该大学还为密苏里大学哥伦比亚分校和密苏里州立大学斯普林菲尔德分校的威尼斯人娱乐城药学院运营卫星校区。
以下是在这一开创性活动上发言的其他支持者所说的话：
- “This expansion is a game changer for rural healthcare in the region," said U.S. Congressman Sam Graves, a sixth-generation family farmer who grew up in northwestern Missouri. “密苏里州北部的医疗保健服务取决于农村医生的可用性。 如果我们想要更多的农村医生，我们需要更多的农村培训。 I’m thrilled that 威尼斯人娱乐城 and Mosaic have come together to make this happen in St. Joseph and I can’t wait to see the impact this will have on north Missouri.”
- “This is a textbook case of how our communities and the University of Missouri System should be collaborating," said Michael Williams, chair of the Board of Curators. “These partnerships will lead to improved healthcare across the state, and that means a better quality of life for every Missouri citizen.”
- “This project is a tremendous example of how the University of Missouri System is transforming our state’s critical workforce and supporting rural health,” said University of Missouri President Mun Choi. “The new campus will increase access to essential care for all Missourians while preparing the next generation of providers to serve close to home and address the shortage of rural health care providers.