The proposed King School of Medicine and Health Sciences Center has taken an important leap forward in its development with approval Thursday of a $25 million grant from the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission, the largest sum ever awarded by the organization.
Tobacco Commission Executive Director Neal Noyes made the announcement following a unanimous vote by the 31-member commission during a meeting in Wytheville, Va.
"Investing in the School of Medicine at King underscores our commitment to supporting projects in Southwest and Southside Virginia that significantly impact large numbers of our citizens," says Virginia Delegate Terry Kilgore, a member of the Tobacco Commission. "King President Dr. Greg Jordan used the term 'transformational' when he pitched this project to us, and we see it exactly that way."
"It will provide a strong future for health care across our region - which impacts every individual and family for miles around. And it creates untold potential for economic growth and new jobs, and it increases higher education opportunities for our bright, young minds," says Virginia State Senator William Wampler. The VTC grant is a matching award and enables King to take the next step in securing a location in Southwest Virginia to begin building the proposed School of Medicine. Tentative plans call for the first class of students to enroll in the new School of Medicine in the fall of 2012.
"This is truly an exciting milestone for our region as we continue to remain focused on resolving the physician shortage," says Jordan. "By becoming the first investor in this vital project, the Virginia Tobacco Commission has given us the foundation we need to move forward. From the beginning, we knew this effort had to be a collaborative one involving education, health care and the community.
"We are confident this generous gift will open the door for others to step up and make financial commitments," Jordan adds. "We are grateful for the commission's recognition and support of a pressing need for additional qualified doctors in the next several decades."
Medical education consultant Tripp Umbach projects that the School of Medicine will create 536 new fulltime jobs with an economic impact of $74.4 million in Southwest Virginia by the year 2016. By 2020, job creation within medical school and non-medical school programs is projected to reach 2,750, with an economic impact of nearly $365 million.
The Association of American Medical Schools (AAMC) projects a 27 percent decline in the number of physicians per 100,000 people in the United States between 2000 and 2030. By the year 2020, approximately 6,500 physicians will be needed across Upper East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, Eastern Kentucky, Western North Carolina and Southern West Virginia. At current physician levels, the federal government labels more than 40 of the region's counties as "medically underserved."
Located in Bristol, Tenn., King College is a private, 501(c)(3) comprehensive college founded in the Presbyterian tradition, offering more than 80 majors, minors, concentrations and pre-professional programs. For more information about King College, visit www.king.edu.
The Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission is a 31-member body created by the 1999 General Assembly. Its mission is to promote economic growth and development in tobacco-dependent communities using proceeds of the national tobacco settlement. To date, the Commission has awarded 1,068 grants totaling more than $518.9 million across the tobacco region of the Commonwealth and has provided $234 million in indemnification payments to tobacco growers and quota holders.
