UT SW medical school in Austin - downtown or mueller?

[ATXboom]

http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin...04/story6.html

Friday, February 1, 2008
UT Southwestern finishes medical school studyAustin Business Journal - by Kate Harrington ABJ Staff
]
The University of Texas System may be moving forward more quickly than originally anticipated with its consideration of a feasibility study prepared by UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas on a potential medical school in Austin.

Sources familiar with the study say it is now completed and in the office of the chancellor and may be considered by the UT Board of Regents as early as Feb. 6 and 7.

A source familiar with the discussions surrounding a potential UT System medical school in Austin says UT System officials have voiced a desire to make a decision by May on whether or not to move forward with a UT Southwestern medical school in Austin. Some say the timing may be related to the retirement of UT Southwestern Medical Center President Dr. Kern Wildenthal in September 2008, and the need to have plans in place for his successor.

For its part, the UT System denies that the study is complete.

"The UT Southwestern feasibility [study] is nowhere near completion, and we do not have a draft report," says Anthony De Bruyn, spokesman for the UT System.

What the feasibility study might actually say is still not apparent. Sources say it likely contains proposed funding scenarios for a medical school.

Austin Council Member Brewster McCracken says there are several possible funding scenarios, including a more traditional model of legislative appropriations or a mixture of funds from donations and public agencies.

"As reflected by tuition deregulation, we can't realistically count on state funding being an exclusive source," McCracken says. "I can see the city of Austin and Travis County Hospital District being possible sources, in addition to private donations."

McCracken says while a location for the potential medical school campus is ultimately up to UT System officials, two possible sites that stand out are the Mueller development, where the city has helped double space to accommodate a potential expansion of UT's academic health research campus, and a downtown site near the University Medical Center at Brackenridge.

An official with the UT Medical Branch says it's not clear what role, if any, UTMB may play in a possible Austin medical school.

For now, the UTMB source says, UT officials will wait to hear what the regents decide before making any other decisions on potential academic medicine plans in Austin.

kharrington@bizjournals.com | (512) 494-2523

[Jdawgboy]

interesting news. Austin may very well have two Medical schools one from A&M and one from UT. I wonder if they are also speeding the process up with news that A&M is going to build their school in Round Rock.

[Dom"n"Converse]

Why would Austin need two medical schools? There isn't even an equivalent of a "fill in the name" medical center area in the metro area. Or do you think it's just a dick measuring contest between UT and A&M?

[Dragonfire]

As much as I like how the northeastern part of Round Rock is filling up with all of these schools and hospitals (Scott & White, Texas A&M, Texas State, ACC, Seton), I hope this one is built elsewhere. All this stuff is so out of the way it's not even funny.

[Shasta]

I hope both UT and ATM build medical schools/hospitals in or near Austin because that means they likely wouldn't block the University of Houston's plans for a medical school.

UH is working with The Methodist Hospital (which broke it's long-time affiliation with Baylor College of Medicine) and Cornell's Weiss School of Medicine out of Manhattan to open a medical college in the Texas Medical Center.

It's been said that ATM and UT would oppose such a move, but it would be a great thing for UH, the city, and the Texas Medical Center to have a 3rd medical school in the City. Boston has Harvard, Tufts, BU, and UMass all close together so I don't see why Houston can't have a third...

[KevinFromTexas]

Well if it goes up near Brackenridge you can pretty much figure it won't be a highrise given the capitol view corridor issues around there. Besides that, I can't imagine there being much land space around Brackenridge.

[ATXboom]

Friday, February 8, 2008 - 11:18 AM CST
Study being released on developing an Austin medical school
Austin Business Journal

On Monday, the Austin Chamber of Commerce's Opportunity Austin will discuss the results of an economic study it commissioned from the Perryman Group on the impact of a medical school attached to a research university in the Austin area.

The study, commissioned in 2007, examines how a medical school would affect different industries in Central Texas. Nan Matthews, senior vice president of communications for the Austin chamber, says the chamber can't release any information about the study's specific findings before Monday's event. But Matthews says the study doesn't link the impact of a potential medical school to any one university, and instead takes a more general view of a medical school's effects in association with any top-tier university.

The conference will take place on Feb. 11 in the Austin city hall council chambers. Speakers will include: Austin Chamber Chair Joe Holt; Opportunity Austin Chair and President Gary Farmer; Ray Perryman, principal with The Perryman Group; Sen. Kirk Watson; Austin Mayor Will Wynn; Seton Family of Hospitals CEO Charles Barnett and St. David's HealthCare CEO Jon Foster.

Both Texas A&M University and the University of Texas System have been discussing the future of academic medicine in Central Texas. A&M's Health Science Center has plans to develop a third and fourth year academic medical campus on 50 acres in Round Rock, which A&M officials say may eventually turn into a 4-year medical school. The University of Texas Medical Branch has approximately 100 residents practicing in hospitals around Austin and the UT System has commissioned a feasibility study from UT Southwestern Medical School about the possibility of that branch building a medical school in Austin.

[ATXboom]

www.bizjournals.com/austin

Monday, February 11, 2008 - 2:58 PM CST
Study: Austin med school would have $2.9B impact on state
Austin Business Journal - by Kate Harrington

Economic impact of Austin medical school to be unveiled [Austin]
Central Texas emerges as crossover technology hub [Austin]
A university-backed medical school in Austin would generate $2.38 billion in yearly spending locally, according to new study.

The report pegs the statewide economic impact of the school at $2.9 billion, saying it would create 19,307 jobs in the Austin area. The study, released by the Austin Chamber of Commerce and conducted by The Perryman Group, concludes that a medical school would be a central factor in positioning Texas as a competitor for the bioscience cluster, as well as improving the overall health of state residents.

While Austin Chamber Chairman Joe Holt and Texas Sen. Kirk Watson both emphasized that the study is not in competition with Texas A&M University's plans to build an academic medical campus in Round Rock, the study specifically focuses on a medical school linked to the University of Texas. Holt said at the press conference that there is no top-tier research university and medical school joint campus in the state, and that the Perryman study focused on the effects of both institutions on a single campus.

There were no officials from the University of Texas System at the event.

Asked if there was any frustration on the part of the chamber or officials involved with the study, Holt and Watson said they understood the UT System's need to very carefully and deliberately consider its options for the future of academic medicine in the area. As reported by the Austin Business Journal on Dec. 21, 2007, the UT System has asked UT Southwestern's Medical School to complete a feasibility study on the possibility of building a medical school in Austin.

UT System officials have said that study is one of many options the system is exploring.

"My frustration is with the idea that we are having these debates in Texas at a time when we're already behind," Watson said at the event. "The only competition we're [facing] is between Texas and the rest of the globe."

Holt said it's important that the Central Texas business community becomes aware of the need to join a medical school with a research university and the economic impact that it could yield. While Holt said a source of funding for a potential medical school isn't clear yet, he says legislative approval could play an important role as well as support from the business community. Perryman says direct construction costs for a typical medical school are usually about $500 million.

During the event, Perryman said Texas -- in particular Central Texas -- is nowhere close to keeping up with the rest of the country in terms of growth in the biomedical industry.

"A common denominator that's missing in Texas is a medical school a great university combined," Perryman says.

The ability to capitalize on the growing trend of convergence technology is also partly contingent on a medical school, he says.

"Austin has every piece, but we're not yet there in the biomedical piece," Perryman says.

Based on typical National Institutes of Health grant levels for major medical schools and established commercialization, the study says gains to the Austin area by 2020 would be about $2.29 billion in annual outlays and 9,104 permanent jobs.

The study also says that if the proposed University of Texas Medical School in Austin led to even a 1 percent improvement in treatment results from major diseases, the overall social benefits to Texas in terms of longevity and productivity would be $11.17 billion annually.

[MichaelB]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Well if it goes up near Brackenridge you can pretty much figure it won't be a highrise given the capitol view corridor issues around there. Besides that, I can't imagine there being much land space around Brackenridge.

Hey Kev...... do you know if the view cooridors are city or state laws? Or a combo? Lord knows if they were city... the University system could just ignor them!

[Dragonfire]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

Hey Kev...... do you know if the view cooridors are city or state laws? Or a combo? Lord knows if they were city... the University system could just ignor them!

If I'm not mistaken, I believe some of the corridors are state laws, and others are city laws.

[KevinFromTexas]

^ What he said. I remember a few articles saying they're protected by the state and the city.

[hookem]

Brackenridge has been moving quickly towards a "teaching hospital," in the past couple of years... that's been the word inside the Seton network, where my wife works. It's ironic, because it was a teaching hospital long ago. So it makes sense that the UT medical branch in Austin would move in close to there, possibly within the existing buildings... with the new Seton Williamson being a trauma center (not sure if the level will equal Brack right off the bat, but it is expected to soon) and the fact that Children's hospital moved to Mueller (Dell) there is actually some breathing room at Brack.

[ATXboom]

Chamber calls for creation of Austin medical school
Full-fledged operation could be worth $2.4 billion a year, 19,000 jobs, study says.

By Ralph K.M. Haurwitz

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF


Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Austin's main business group joined with the city's mayor, state senator and major hospital executives Monday to call for the establishment of a medical school here.

Officials of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce released an economic analysis they commissioned that concluded that a medical school would pump $2.4 billion a year into the region's economy and generate more than 19,000 jobs through direct employment, spinoff activity and startup firms.

The analysis by M. Ray Perryman of the Waco-based Perryman Group assumes that such a school would be a full-fledged operation with substantial research collaborations involving the University of Texas at Austin. Austin is currently a bit player in biotechnology, but a medical school could dramatically expand its role in that and related fields, Perryman said.

"In addition to the numerous economic benefits identified by the study, a medical school will help alleviate the area's shortage of physicians measured on a per capita basis compared with other cities," said Joe Holt, chairman of the chamber. "Medical schools also provide for helping meet indigent care needs."

At a City Hall news conference, Mayor Will Wynn, state Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, and executives of the Seton Family of Hospitals and St. David's HealthCare all emphasized the economic and health care benefits of a medical school.

Austin is the second-largest city in the country without a medical school. San Jose, Calif., is the largest.

Randa Safady, a vice chancellor for the UT System, said the chamber's study would help inform the system's deliberations about whether and how to establish a medical school in Austin. The system has been studying the matter for a few years, most recently with an eye toward opening a branch campus of the UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

At the same time, the Texas A&M University System has lined up land, donations and legislative approval for a Round Rock branch of its medical school. The Perryman study was completed before the A&M initiative was announced, and officials of the Austin chamber said they didn't see it as a matter of competition because an Austin medical school would have a stronger research bent as a result of proximity to UT-Austin researchers.

Holt, who is also chairman of the Austin region for JPMorgan Chase & Co., said he had no complaints about the pace of the UT System's review but was frustrated that Austin's business community has not been more outspoken on the need for a medical school.

rhaurwitz@statesman.com; 445-3604

[Mopacs]

There's also been talk in the past of locating a medical school within the huge, mostly undeveloped Robinson Ranch in northern Travis County.

The family has been very selective in its sale of parcels. In the past, they have sold off land primarily for uses that benefit the community. This includes schools (McNeil High School) and major employers (Motorola/Freescale, etc.). Certainly a medical school would fit this criteria.

Austin recently came to an agreement with the family for future annexation of ranch. There is a huge opportunity for well-planned infill...The ranch is surrounded on all sides by established residental/commercial development (Round Rock and Austin). Road access already includes the Mopac and SH 45 tollways, along with two major rail lines, which converge near the family's limestone plant.

[Mopacs]

...Robinson Ranch background info, from a 2004 Austin Chronicle article (including map)

http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrob...d=oid%3A212975

[ATXboom]

Branch of Dallas medical school "most likely" option for Austin, UT System says
Decision expected in four to six months on how to proceed.
By Ralph K.M. Haurwitz

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF


Wednesday, February 13, 2008

An Austin branch of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas is the "most likely" option for establishing a medical school here, and a decision on whether and how to proceed could come in four to six months, according to the head of health affairs for the UT System.

The comments by Executive Vice Chancellor Kenneth Shine during an interview Tuesday marked the first time a UT System official has sketched out such a timeline and characterized the prospects of a particular option for a medical school.

Shine, a Harvard-educated cardiologist and former president of the Institute of Medicine, oversees UT Southwestern and five other health campuses in the UT System. He has led the system's deliberations concerning a possible medical school in Austin for the past few years.

During the interview, he sounded optimistic but also cautious about the prospects in Austin, and seemed undeterred by the Texas A&M University System's plans for a Round Rock branch of its medical school.

Shine said an analysis prepared by Waco economist M. Ray Perryman and released Monday by the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce accurately portrayed a medical school here with close ties to UT-Austin as a potentially powerful engine for expanding life-sciences research, patient care and economic development.

"The synergism between a medical school and a first-class academic university is a synergism that is extraordinarily desirable and in my view could be accomplished," Shine said. "A campus here run by one of the University of Texas campuses, most likely Southwestern, makes eminently good sense.

"We are still examining ... the feasibility of all this. This is a big, expensive operation. We're talking about hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars," he said.

A decision by the UT System Board of Regents to proceed is by no means a certainty, Shine said. Support from hospitals, the city, the business community, the hospital district and philanthropists will be crucial, he said.

"No matter how much we would like to see an expansion of medical research, education and patient care, the challenges to doing that, particularly the costs, are really substantial," he said.

"We cannot commit to that kind of development unless we know we're likely to have the resources for a first-class operation.

"I don't think the regents will commit to that unless they're sure the resources are available," he said.

Shine said UT Southwestern, "the premier medical school in the state," is in the best position to establish a medical school here.

If that came to fruition, substantial portions of programs in Austin sponsored by the UT Medical Branch at Galveston would likely be transferred to UT Southwestern, he said. Those programs include clinical rotations at Austin hospitals for third- and fourth-year UTMB medical students. Physicians here with UTMB appointments would have an opportunity to join the UT Southwestern faculty.

Some UTMB programs in Austin, including its operation of a women's hospital within the University Medical Center at Brackenridge, might remain in place, Shine said.

Officials have not determined where an Austin medical branch — if one were to be established — might be located. One possibility mentioned by Shine — and also by by Austin Mayor Will Wynn — is a parcel adjacent to UT-Austin's Dell Pediatric Research Institute, which is under construction at the site of the former Mueller airport.

The pediatric institute property itself could accommodate three additional research buildings and a clinic, perhaps in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Shine said.

Asked whether other parcels closer to UT-Austin, or even on the main campus, are also under consideration, Shine replied: "Everything's on the table."

[KevinFromTexas]

From the Austin American-Statesman
http://www.statesman.com/news/conten...medschool.html

HIGHER EDUCATION

UT sites considered for medical school
Three possible locations near hospital are especially attractive.

By Ralph K.M. Haurwitz
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, April 18, 2008

Three parcels on the University of Texas campus have emerged as possible locations for a medical school in Austin because of their proximity to the University Medical Center at Brackenridge.

The sites are also near the UT School of Nursing, which would enhance opportunities for collaboration in patient care and research.

The UT System Board of Regents is expected to decide in two to four months whether to establish a branch campus in Austin of the UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, the state's most prestigious public medical school.

System officials say a number of locations are under consideration. Of the three UT-Austin locations said to be in the mix, one is a parking lot next to the Erwin Center and directly across 15th Street from the University Medical Center, which, despite its name, is not an arm of UT-Austin or any other university.

The second is cater-corner from the hospital on land occupied by woods, tennis courts and Waller Creek. The third is a few blocks north, at the northwest corner of Red River Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and is used for parking.

A possible fourth parcel is adjacent to UT-Austin's Dell Pediatric Research Institute. The institute is under construction at the former Robert Mueller Municipal Airport site that is also home to the Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas.

"The Board of Regents has not had formal discussions concerning locations for expanding medical education programs in Austin," said Anthony de Bruyn, a UT System spokesman. "Everything's on the table."

The two sites closest to the University Medical Center seem especially compelling because of their proximity to the center.

The parcel next to the Erwin Center runs from Red River Street to the Interstate 35 frontage road and consists of 460 parking spots along with live oaks, other trees and a grassy strip. An above-ground or underground garage presumably could be built at the site. The other parcel, along Waller Creek at the northwest corner of Red River and 15th streets, is a tad farther away but still within easy walking distance.

John McDevitt, a UT professor of chemistry and biochemistry, said having a hospital within walking distance would be invaluable for researchers like him with bench-to-bedside projects.

McDevitt is working on a saliva test to detect whether a patient is having a heart attack. One challenge he faces is getting fresh saliva samples. Medical colleagues in San Antonio take samples from patients and freeze them before shipping them to him. Collaborating with physicians at a medical school close to a hospital in Austin would allow him to study fresh samples, which he prefers.

Executives of the region's two major hospital systems — the Seton Family of Hospitals and St. David's HealthCare — said they've heard about the possible locations.

"It wouldn't surprise me that high on the list of options would be real estate close to the hospital," said Greg Hartman, Seton's senior vice president, referring to the University Medical Center. Seton operates the medical center for the Travis County Healthcare District.

Jon Foster, president and CEO of St. David's, said hospitals in his system do not have sufficient acreage adjacent to them to accommodate a medical school. Nevertheless, the locations under consideration are close enough to the St. David's Medical Center at 32nd and Red River streets to generate "a fair amount of synergy," Foster said.

"St. David's is in discussions with the UT System about how we will be involved going forward," Foster said.

It's not clear when UT Southwestern will complete a study on the feasibility of a branch campus. The UT System declined to release the records sought through an open records request, citing competition for donors, community support and legislative support with the Texas A&M University System, which is farther along in establishing a medical school in Round Rock. The state attorney general's office ruled that the UT System could withhold the information.

"The regents are looking forward to receiving the feasibility study, and what they will do and how they will move forward are yet to be determined," de Bruyn said. "That said, the regents remain very committed to expanding medical education programs in Austin."

Cost is a major consideration. Kenneth Shine, the UT System's executive vice chancellor for health affairs, has said that it would take "hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars" to establish a medical school.

"Many, if not all of us in the city, recognize that the city is going to have to meaningfully contribute to this as well," said Council Member Brewster McCracken. "That could take the form of donated land or even a bond election to provide almost a partnership contribution of funds."

Patricia Young Brown, president and CEO of the healthcare district, said her agency doesn't fund medical education but would pay for care that a medical school would provide to indigent patients.

Financial support from individuals, businesses and the community is essential, said Michael Rollins, president and CEO of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, who added that the prospect of a medical school had created a certain buzz.

"We're extraordinarily optimistic," Rollins said. "The timing may be as good as it's ever going to be."

[GoldenBoot]

None of those tracts will house a full-fledged medical school - a teaching/research facility, perhaps, but not an entire school. The sites presented are not big enough for the establishment of a true medical school. If an institution were wise in spending several hundred million dollars it will take to establish a medical school, they would look to develop it on tens, if not hundreds, of contiguous acres. Not even Mueller has enough space…

I believe the sites mentioned in this article were just a smoke-screen being sent out by UT officials. Reason being; their target site may become a source of heated debate from nearby residents and other locals who frequent the area. Hint; keep your eyes on the 400+ acre Breckenridge tract in West Austin...

[KevinFromTexas]

That's exactly what I was thinking. One, that those locations were too small for a true full scale medical campus. Mueller sounded better, but as you said, land would still be an issue. Most of that land is already spoken for, and a medical center was never really considered for that location.

I always wondered why they don't put one at or near the Pickle Campus. That whole area up there is slated for more density anyway and height wouldn't be an issue if they needed it.

[Jdawgboy]

Yea I am thinking the Breckenridge tract would be the best place for it. But honestly I don't think anybody in that area be it nearby residents or others should be complaining. For one thing the land belongs to UT. It was given to UT specifically for the reason that one day it would be put to use by the university for expanded learning in whatever form it would come. Alot of these people should look into why UT has the land in the first place before they start complaining.