COLUMBIA (AP) - Gov. Eric Greitens' budget proposal for the state's 2018 fiscal year won't fund the new expansions for the University of Missouri Medical School in Columbia and Springfield.
The information came on the heels of the governor's January announcement to withhold $4 million of the MU Cooperative Medicine Program's $10 million appropriation for the current fiscal year, the Columbia Missourian reported.
The Columbia facility and the new Springfield Clinical Campus that opened in June could face tight operating budgets and increased difficulty hiring faculty if state funding is halted, said Weldon Webb, the university's associate dean for Springfield Clinical Campus Implementation.
Webb said the medical school's expansions will proceed as planned for now, and the funding loss won't affect construction of the university's Patient-Centered Care Learning Center. The $42.5 million facility is expected to be complete this summer, and it is expected to have classrooms, an anatomy lab, a simulation center, patient-based learning labs and educational services.
Springfield Chamber of Commerce President Matt Morrow said getting funding into the budget for the next fiscal year is priority.
"What I hope that we as a community are able to do is have productive conversations with the governor and the Legislature," Morrow said.
He said giving students the opportunity to fill Missouri's physician shortage, especially in rural areas, will help grow the economy.
The university is expected to admit 32 additional medical students each year because of the expansion, with the hopes all 64 third- and fourth-year students will do clinical training in Springfield. Currently, the Springfield campus only has nine third-year students.