SAGINAW, MI Eventually, Central Michigan University expects to have more than 400students enrolled each year in its new medical college.

Roughly half of those students, those in their third and fourth years, will completely the majority of their coursework in two Saginaw hospitals and the adjacent facilities that CMU plans to build in 2013 and 2014.

Grant Elmquist, development officer for the new college, outlined the plans for the $25 million capital campaign and the impact it will have on the community to city leaders Monday, Jan. 25, during a tour of economic development initiatives in Saginaw.

"Hopefully next time you guys are here, you'll be wearing hardhats," Elmquist said. "We'll be breaking ground here fairly quickly."

He said this will the largest capital campaign in CMU history, though the $25 million will include construction on the Mount Pleasant campus as well.

In Saginaw, facilities are planned on both the campuses of Covenant HealthCare and St. Mary's of Michigan.

Elmquist said local leaders could expect the college moving into Saginaw will have a positive economic impact.

According to a 2008 study by the American Association of Medical Colleges, each $1 spent by medical schools and teaching hospitals can be expected to generate $1.30 in indirect revenue for the community. Having a college of medicine in the area can also eventually become a boon for the economy through a greater availability of grants for medical research, Elmquist said.

"That, to me, is one of the most exciting components," hesaid."

JoAnn Crary, presidentand CEO of Saginaw Future, said she plans to workclosely with CMU and local developers in hopes to connect students and faculty with residential and other opportunities nearby.

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Saginaw city officials get scoop on Central Michigan University Medical School developments

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) Mississippi House lawmakers say they're ready to borrow $31 million for a new medical school building, but a top Senate lawmaker remains noncommittal.

The House voted 118-1 Wednesday to approve a bill to issue $31 million in bonds for a new five-story building on the University of Mississippi Medical Center campus in Jackson. Earlier Wednesday, the House Ways and Means Committee unanimously approved the measure.

Officials said the project's price tag has risen to $76 million from the $63 million previously estimated. Lawmakers provided $4 million for project planning earlier, and Gov. Phil Bryant's administration steered $10 million in federal grant money in October.

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jeff Smith, R-Columbus, said House lawmakers intend to provide another $31 million next year to cover the remainder of the cost. He and other House members lauded UMMC's plan to train another 30 to 40 physicians per year in the expanded quarters. Now, each class of physicians has 135 students.

"This will allow the doctor population in Mississippi to expand," Smith said.

Dr. LouAnn Woodward, UMMC's associate vice chancellor, said the money is enough to begin construction. She said site work is likely to begin in late spring.

"We are so grateful for the support from the state," Woodward said. "This is an investment."

Medical school officials say the 151,000 square-foot building will replace outdated student laboratories and relieve overcrowding that has forced the school's simulation program into converted closets and a basement.

But money for the medical school could get caught up in a renewed struggle between the House and the Senate over how much the state should borrow. Last year, House members wanted to borrow hundreds of millions of dollars and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves wanted to borrow less. When the sides couldn't agree, no bond bill passed for the first time in years.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Joey Fillingane, R-Sumrall, said the Senate was prepared to support money last year in its pared-down bond proposal, but wouldn't commit to supporting it again this year.

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House panel OKs bonds for medical school expansion

The Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences is taking a second look at a possible satellite campus in Joplin, although no final decision is expected until April, city and school officials said.

Two representatives of the private osteopathic medical school's Strategic Expansion Task Force were in Joplin last week to visit potential sites and discuss the project with city and business leaders, said Lisa Cambridge, spokeswoman for the school.

The representatives visited Missouri Southern State University and heard a presentation from the city's master developer, David Wallace, Cambridge told The Joplin Globe.

The task force toured the university's Health Sciences Building and discussed student amenities and what type of research the faculty was conducting, said Pat Lipira, vice president of academic affairs at the university.

"For us, we'd just love to see a medical school, regardless of where it is located," Lipira said. "We know many of our students would be interested in that. We have a good rate of acceptance into medical schools."

Wallace told the Joplin City Council on Jan. 14 that he would make a presentation on a proposal to build a $79 million campus in downtown Joplin but other buildings and locations could be involved because the university had suggested it might want a downtown location for offices and classrooms but have students housed elsewhere.

Wallace told the city council a medical school could add $50 million a year to Joplin's economy.

"We are all for a medical education facility coming here, whether it be on the Missouri Southern campus or the downtown area," Mayor Melodee Colbert-Kean said. "We are just happy it would be in Joplin. It would be a catalyst to continuing downtown development. I think it will be a win all around for the city."

Expansion talks between the school and city were derailed in the spring of 2010 in the midst of a dispute between the university and it board. The university had fired its former president, Karen Pletz, and sued her, prompting a lawsuit from her. And the Internal Revenue Service was auditing the school.

Pletz later faced 24 federal charges alleging she had embezzled more than $1.5 million over seven years. She committed suicide in November 2011.

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KC medical school eyes new Joplin campus