The University of Missouri-Kansas City is poised to begin work on a new interprofessional health sciences building in the UMKC Health Sciences District, housing state-of-the-art dental teaching clinics and expanded medical school teaching clinics.
The multi-story, $100 million project will also serve as home for the university’s Data Science and Analytics Center and the Biomedical Engineering program.
This project will take the Health Sciences District to the next level, accelerating health care access and equity for the community and sparking development to turn the campus into a regional draw, igniting entrepreneurship and economic growth for the city and region.
The Missouri General Assembly appropriated $40 million for the building in the FY2023 budget. This comes with a challenge to the Kansas City community to raise $60 million to match the state funding to build the project. Civic leaders view the project as a next step toward the launch of a comprehensive development plan for the district.
“A united medical and dental building will be a signature facility, as there is only one such institution in the country with this combined learning and clinical environment,” said Chancellor C. Mauli Agrawal. “The project will spark an expansion of the entire UMKC Health Sciences District that could dramatically expand health care in Kansas City, attract top faculty and researchers and new private investment that could create new jobs and eventually contribute billions to the Kansas City economy.”
The expansion will attract some of the best dental students and faculty from the region. In addition, UMKC will have increased space to continue its important work serving the underserved – delivering almost $1 million in uncompensated care to those who otherwise may not get dental treatment. With a new interprofessional building, the next generation of dentists and dental hygienists can be taught to deliver better care at a lower cost. Another benefit will be the expansion of dental emergency services, which will lower the number of dental emergencies seen at hospital emergency rooms and continue to make first-rate dental care more accessible to the community.