HIGHER EDUCATION
UNM's $636M medical school aims to double doctor training
New facility, set to open in 2030, would grow the incoming class to 200 students annually to address state's physician shortage
Amy Rosenbaum examines a heart model at the University of New Mexico鈥檚 Anatomy Lab in March 2022.
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Officials at the University of New Mexico say the college鈥檚 new $636 million School of Medicine, designed to double the size of its incoming class, will be completed in time to welcome the new class of students in 2030.
The would add a new 350,000-square-foot facility on the northeast corner of Lomas and University NE that will replace the School of Medicine鈥檚 main facility, Reginald Heber Fitz Hall, which was built in 1967.
The goal is to grow the medical school class from about 100 students a year to 200 students, UNM Executive Vice President of Health Sciences Dr. Mike Richards told the Legislative Finance Committee in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 on Wednesday.
UNM has the state鈥檚 largest medical school and the only program issuing M.D. degrees. Though almost all UNM School of Medicine students are originally from New Mexico, the majority will leave the state to practice medicine after completing their training, according to the LFC report.
New Mexico 32nd in the country for physicians per capita, and every county in the state, except Los Alamos, has been a health professional shortage area, according to the Texas-based think tank .
New Mexico has around 30% fewer medical students per capita than the national average, according to a university .
State Sen. George Mu帽oz, D-Gallup, vice chair of the LFC, said Wednesday that the new medical school 鈥� funded by a total of $576 million from the state and $60 million from UNM 鈥� is the Legislature鈥檚 鈥渓argest ever鈥� investment in UNM.
鈥淲e鈥檝e given you a ton of money,鈥� Mu帽oz said Wednesday. 鈥淵ou guys are going to have to have cost containment. I don鈥檛 know if I鈥檓 going to be willing to look back and have spent $650 million and now you say, 鈥極h, I need another $200 million to complete the hospital.鈥欌��
Stewart Livsie, director of the UNM Health Sciences Center Capital Projects Office, told legislators that the university had a 鈥渞obust鈥� cost management program and that despite nationwide inflation, officials were running cost estimates about every six weeks, which showed the project was largely on track.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e within $5 million on this project, I need to hire you guys,鈥� Mu帽oz said.
Construction is planned to start in the spring of 2027, Livsie said.
UNM currently trains 795 medical residents and fellows. After the new medical school is finished, Richards said the school hoped to have more than 1,000 residency and fellowship slots, which could put UNM among the top 10 graduate medical education programs in the country in terms of size.
鈥淲e know that individuals who train in these programs are really important for us to deliver clinical care,鈥� Richards said. 鈥淭his is at a time of life where they then make connections to the community and oftentimes will stay.鈥�
The new medical school will create 565 new jobs at the university, Richards said, with thousands more indirect jobs projected as well. Officials said they hoped a hotel would go up near the construction for staff, student and patient use.
The UNM Hospital unveiled its new $842 million critical care tower in September 鈥� the largest and most expensive non-road construction project in New Mexico history 鈥� designed to increase patient capacity at the often-overcrowded hospital. UNMH is the state鈥檚 only Level 1 trauma center, equipped to provide 24-hour care for patients with the most serious injuries.
Dr. Steve Goldstein, a physician and health sciences administrator from the University of California, Irvine, will become UNM鈥檚 new president in the fall, succeeding President Garnett Stokes, who will retire this summer after eight years.
State Rep. Liz Thomson, D-sa国际传媒官网网页入口, said she was 鈥渢ickled beyond belief鈥� that the new president had a health sciences background at a time when the school was undergoing a major medical facility expansion.
鈥淭his is going to be a game changer,鈥� Thomson said of the new medical school. 鈥淚 wish we could wave our magic wand and have it tomorrow, but I鈥檒l try to be patient.鈥�
Natalie Robbins covers education for the Journal. You can reach her at nrobbins@abqjournal.com.
