FIU Med School Decision....Delayed Again

[FIUFanatic]

According to the Orlando Business Journal, both universities (UCF and FIU) will give yet another presentation to the Board of Governors in March, where a final decision is finally expected.....

Oh well...more time to raise money, awareness and facts to support our Medical School!!!


www.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2006/01/09/daily7.html?from_rss=1




www.topix.net/r/0=2FUNoL7vvDkfToL4ac=2B31fK4yb8ppFQ0=2BkY=2F1QTXJcledUYqPeXWbfUeDBWRxbCrZULcRKW1sYJpSMP2nhyxyN5=2F=2BEOusK3iDX8gw4OvKQWo=3D

Decision On University Of Central Florida Medical School Delayed

POSTED: 5:50 am EST January 10, 2006
UPDATED: 6:39 am EST January 10, 2006

The University of Central Florida will have to wait longer and worker harder to win approval for a new medical school, according to a Local 6 News report.

The Orlando Business Journal reported that the Florida Board of Governors has asked UCF and Florida International University to give another presentation in March.

Both universities made a pitch for medical schools in November and were expecting a decision this month.

UCF president John Hitt told the Business Journal that he now expects a decision in March.

The board could approve both new medical schools, one of them or neither of them, Local 6 News reported.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.

[gpantera]

Guess we can't use a shortage of time for not being prepared. Come on FIU, take this time, get ready and put your best foot fwd. We're all rooting for you!

[FIUFan]

Sounds like the good people of Orlando are getting a bit impatient. We've been at this for over 10 years so what's another couple of months?

[FIUBlue82]

Good things come to those who wait............

[FIUFanatic]

A new article in the Sun Sentinel about UCF anf FIU's bid for the Med School. It seems there is a very important meeting today to discuss this issue. I read somewhere they would devote at least 4 hours to the Medical School issues. Here's hoping our "team" is still working the benefits of an FIU School of Medicine to Regents with a fair and positive outlook.....

Go FIU School of Medicine!!!

www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/orl-ucfmed2306feb23,0,2579123.story

Study hails proposed med school


UCF campus could draw 25,000 jobs in first decade

Tania Deluzuriaga
Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted February 23 2006


TALLAHASSEE -- The University of Central Florida's proposed medical school can attract enough biomedical industry to the region to create a "life sciences cluster" generating 25,000 jobs and $6.4 billion during its first decade, a new study says.

Consultants hired by the university say the Orlando school could rival the economic impact of the Scripps Institute biomedical campus taking shape in Palm Beach County -- at a much lower cost to the state.

The report is the newest volley in the university's campaign to sway the Board of Governors, which is meeting in Tallahassee today to discuss the need for new medical campuses proposed by UCF and Florida International University in Miami.

"The truth of the matter is that the economic impact of a medical school or medical-school cluster is huge," said Dan Holsenbeck, UCF's vice president of university relations. "There's no evidence this will do anything but blossom, grow and attract industry."

The 32-page presentation is the result of a $160,000 study by Perry Wong of the Milken Institute, a California-based think tank, and former Florida budget director Donna Arduin. UCF hired them in January after Gov. Jeb Bush urged university officials to look at their medical-school proposal in the context of one of his own priorities: diversifying the state's economy.

UCF officials met with Bush on Wednesday and presented him with results of the study, which say the medical school alone -- without the biomedical-related businesses the researchers think it would attract to Central Florida -- would have a $1.4 billion economic impact by 2017.

"I think the reading from those of us in the meeting is that it was viewed favorably by the governor," UCF President John Hitt said later Wednesday. "We think it's a great way to pursue his agenda."

On Tuesday, Bush told members of a statewide bioscience organization that he wants to lure research institutions to the state and make Florida a hub of scientific innovation. His proposed budget this year includes $100 million to finance centers of excellence at the 11 public universities for targeted industries, such as biotech.

The state and Palm Beach County already have committed nearly $600 million to lure the California-based Scripps to Florida Atlantic University in Jupiter. Researchers have estimated the economic impact there at $8.9 million over 15 years -- a figure UCF says its medical school could approach.

"Economic impact is going to be a factor," Hitt said Monday. "This interests him [Bush], and that may influence the board of governors."

In November, UCF and FIU asked the board, which oversees Florida's universities, to approve creation of two new medical schools to address the state's physician shortage.

In support of its bid, UCF has raised $44.4 million in public and private donations to build a medical school at Lake Nona near Orlando International Airport. Lake Nona's developer also has set aside hundreds of acres near the proposed medical-school site for a research and technology park.

FIU has marshaled similar donations.

Provost Ronald Berkman said Wednesday that the university also is working on its own economic study that should be completed next week.

Florida already has medical schools at the University of Florida, the University of South Florida, Florida State University and the University of Miami. Some experts suggest that expanding these programs would be a better idea.

And with just one new school projected to cost the state at least $200 million in the first 10 years, the board wants to make sure it would be a wise investment.

Economic impact "isn't a secondary issue; it's part of the equation," Carolyn Roberts, the board's chairwoman, said Tuesday. "We have to look at what's best for our citizens, our students and the economic development of the state."

Today, members will question their own expert about the two medical-school proposals during their meeting at Florida A&M University. However, a decision won't be made until March.

"I'm sure we all feel enormous pressure," said Roberts, noting that the medical-school issue is the costliest program to come before the board since it was created by voter referendum in 2002. "It's important for our state to make the right decision."

But several economists questioned whether the UCF report is really a study or more of a marketing tool.

"Consultants survive by telling their clients what they want to hear," said Dennis Colie, director of the Center of Economic Development at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

One problem, the economists said, is that while the study claims that every dollar invested by the state will result in $33 worth of economic activity, it doesn't include private companies' costs.

"It touts the output of private industry while ignoring how much the private sector is investing," Colie said. "The true cost is the amount invested by the public and private sectors."

In addition, a 3,200 percent return on investment is unheard of, said John Siegfried, a professor at Vanderbilt University who specializes in the economics of higher education.

"I'm embarrassed that the people who put these numbers out think residents would believe this," he said. "If the rate of return is that good, why is Florida not building 50 of these?"

[FIUFan]

Now counter the Orlando paper's version, "Study hails proposed med school", "UCF campus could draw 25,000 jobs in first decade", with the Herald's version, "Vote on new medical schools may be delayed, board says" and within the body "At issue is whether the state needs to finance more medical schools.". Notice how the Orlando paper limits the criticism to the very end and how the Herald leads with it and tries to put a negative light on this endeavor in the very first paragraph.

How long have we been living with the weight of the Herald hanging around our necks? Are they doing a disservice to this community? Come on people wake up, the Herald has an agenda (that they manage very carefully ) against FIU. Don't believe me, just compare the approach/opinions of these two papers. What the Herald is trying to do is to 'manage our perceptions', don't let them!



Vote on new medical schools may be delayed, board says

As discussion over two proposed Florida public medical schools continues, some say the vote on the issue, set for next month, may have to be delayed. [why are they leading with this ]

BY JENNIFER MOONEY PIEDRA


TALLAHASSEE - An expert hired by a state higher-education board to answer questions about two proposed medical schools in Miami and Orlando said Thursday that Florida is facing a shortage of physicians.
But another influential voice, the president of the Florida Medical Association, said the way to boost the number of physicians in the state is not to open additional medical schools, but to expand programs and capacities in existing facilities. [you think this benefits anyone around here; let's lead with this ]
''We think the most cost-effective way to expand physician work in the shortest period of time is to provide residency slots in the state of Florida,'' said Troy Tippett, a Pensacola neurosurgeon.

The discussion about opening new state medical schools at Florida International University and the University of Central Florida continued for several hours during a workshop session at Florida A&M University.

Both schools have made the proposals their top priority, believing the programs would greatly enhance their reputations and bring economic development to the communities they serve.

The state Board of Governors, which oversees the 11 public universities and is responsible for approving new educational facilities, is scheduled to make a final decision on the separate bids next month.

At issue is whether the state needs to finance more medical schools. [where are the quotes on the economic benefits to the community ]

There are now three public schools at state universities -- at Florida State, Florida and South Florida. [none in SFla with over 6 million people; what about that Herald? ]

But even after a lengthy presentation by outside consultant Michael Whitcomb, senior vice president of the Association of American Medical Colleges, the vote may have to be pushed back, said board chairwoman Carolyn Roberts.

''This is a tremendously important decision to the state,'' Roberts said after the meeting. "It's too important to vote when the board isn't prepared to vote.''

FIU President Modesto ''Mitch'' Maidique, who attended the workshop, hopes the vote goes on as planned.
''The presentation today was, in a very general sense, supportive of the argument we have been making,'' Maidique said. ``I feel good about it.''

During a nearly three-hour presentation, Whitcomb avoided offering any opinions on the two proposed schools [I don't know about that, the O' Sentinal seemed to think he "hailed" the proposals], speaking generally about different options of building new medical schools and expanding existing sites.

Board member Zack Zachariah, the head of the board's medical education committee, grilled Whitcomb about whether the state would see a return from the $500 million it would cost taxpayers to build the two new schools. Zachariah, a Broward doctor and member of the board of trustees for Nova Southeastern University, which operates its own osteopathic medical school, has been very critical of the proposals [I'm sure he has, he's on Nova's payroll ]. Whitcomb said the state would see a return in the expansion of residency programs.

If the board approves the two schools, the universities must then go before the state Legislature to ask for money [no dah!, but let's keep bringing up that cost issue without mentioning the economic beneifts ]-- a move that would likely not happen until 2007.

For his part, Tippett hopes the board first addresses the shortage of physicians before building more medical schools.
''It's understandable that the individual universities would like the prestige that comes with the creation of new medical schools,'' he said. ``New medical schools must not be our first priority.'' [let's give this guy plenty of coverage, he seems to be espousing a point of view which compliments ours; right Herald?]

www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/13947731.htm