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Medical schools get okay, not cash

The state says UCF and FIU can build schools. Now they need millions of dollars to make it happen.

By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER
Published March 24, 2006

TALLAHASSEE - The board overseeing Florida's university system endorsed two new medical schools Thursday that are expected to cost a half-billion dollars to establish and $40-million a year to operate.

By a 15-1 vote, the Board of Governors gave Florida International University in Miami and the University of Central Florida in Orlando permission to create public medical schools. The vote came over the objections of critics who say there are better ways to produce more Florida doctors.

The schools won't become reality unless they can get tens of millions in taxpayer money from the Legislature and governor. Senate President Tom Lee, R-Valrico, suggested Thursday that their plans face a tough road, in part because he is worried the "very expensive proposition" would drain resources from other university programs.

"I wouldn't consider it a fait acompli," Lee said before the vote.

Still, getting the board's approval was a crucial step forward for the schools.

Afterward, FIU president Mitch Maidique described his mood as "exhilaration." UCF president John Hitt smiled and said, "This is great."

It was the costliest proposal to come before the Board of Governors since its creation by voter referendum in 2002, and a test of the body's political will. The group that used to govern state universities was dismantled in 2001 after it opposed a medical school at Florida State University, alma mater of then-House Speaker John Thrasher.

Education Commissioner John Winn said the schools aren't the "most efficient" way to address the state's shortage of doctors, but "I don't believe there is another solution out there that will generate the pure excitement (and) enthusiasm."

"If it's going to cost us a little bit more or whatever," Winn said, "that may be the price we pay."

The board was clear on one point: The new schools can't come at the expense of existing medical colleges at FSU, the University of South Florida and the University of Florida.

Some board members offered their endorsements with great reluctance.

One board member, Dr. Zach P. Zachariah, a Florida physician for 30 years, called the plan a "snow job" but ultimately voted for the schools. John Temple, who also voted for the schools, had called them "the last priority."

If the schools do open, FIU and UCF will become two of only three American universities in the past 25 years to create new programs training medical doctors. FSU was the other.

Advocates for the schools say they will train much-needed doctors in a state with a growing elderly and indigent population, while generating thousands of jobs, millions in state tax revenues, and billions in economic development for their regions.

UCF commissioned a study, at a cost of $160,000, that found its medical school would generate $1.4-billion a year in economic development for the region by its 10th year. The study concluded the school also would attract biotechnology to Florida - one of Gov. Jeb Bush's priorities.

FIU also commissioned a study, which estimated its medical school would generate between 12,500 and 14,900 new jobs and more than $1.4-billion annually in economic development.

Some economists question the studies' methodology, but university leaders contend they prove the schools are a worthy investment.

"Economic development is very important, but I don't want us to forget the issue here, and that is a shortage of doctors," said board chairwoman Carolyn Roberts, who only votes in the case of a tie. "That is what our citizens are interested in."

State estimates indicate Florida will need 1,500 more doctors in the next 15 years to keep up with population growth. Florida is the fourth most populous state, but ranks at the bottom in the number of medical school graduates it produces per 100 people.

UCF's and FIU's schools each would graduate 120 doctors a year when fully operational.

Critics worry that five public medical schools will produce a glut of doctors, none guaranteed to practice in Florida. Only 14 percent of the state's doctors went to a Florida medical school.

A state study done for the board in 2004 found that more than half of Florida's medical students do their residencies out of state. But 60 percent of those who do their residences here end up staying.

Opponents of the new medical schools argue it would be more efficient and less costly to add residencies and expand existing medical programs - a notion echoed by the Florida Medical Association and the 2004 report.

UCF and FIU, known for their explosive student growth and ambitious leaders, are counting on the new schools to enhance their prestige, especially in research. In 2004, medical schools at UF and USF received nearly $100-million in awards from the National Institutes of Health.

Meanwhile, the state's existing medical schools are moving to train more doctors and keep them in-state.

USF plans to increase its medical school class from 120 students to 200, president Judy Genshaft said. FSU plans to increase its enrollment to 120 students by 2007. UF increased its class size to 135 last year, up from 115.

Both UCF and FIU pulled out all the stops for Thursday's vote, culminating an effort that has lasted for much of the last two years.

Maidique worked until the end, lobbying Zachariah before the vote. Nearby, FIU students wore T-shirts declaring: "FIU Medical School ... Sounds Good!"

After the vote, UCF and FIU supporters whooped and clapped. But next comes the real test: paying for the schools.

Combined, the two medical schools will cost taxpayers an estimated $500-million in the first 12 years. It will cost close to $20-million a year per school after that, by the universities' own measure.

Hitt said UCF has gathered more than $47-million in public and private donations for its school. FIU has secured a $20-million donation and has a verbal commitment for $40-million, Maidique said. The state matches all university gifts.

UCF and FIU leaders promised not to seek state money this year, and they point out the first year's costs are less than $12-million total.

"I have no doubt we will get it," Hitt said.

Times staff writer Joni James contributed to this report. Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler can be reached at svansickler@sptimes.com or 813 226-3373.

[Last modified March 24, 2006, 02:15:43]