Arizona State University has announced plans to launch a new medical school.
It’s part of a larger Arizona Board of Regents’ effort called the AZ Healthy Tomorrow initiative. The goal is to address the state’s growing health care needs. ABOR has allocated $30 million to support the state's three public universities in this effort.
Arizona ranks near the bottom in many health system performance indicators. The state ranks 44 in access and affordability, 41 in prevention and treatment, and public health funding is 50% below the national average.
During a meeting with the Arizona Board of Regents on Thursday, ASU President Michael Crow announced the new School of Medicine and Advanced Medical Engineering.
“We think that the graduates of this school, so enhanced by their dual educational outcome, an engineering outcome and a medical school outcome, will be able to add a mix to Arizona that will be beneficial to the ultimate design of the Arizona health system," Crow said.
It will integrate clinical medicine, biomedical science and engineering.
Two schools like that exist in the U.S., one at the University of Illinois and one at Texas A&M.
ASU will also launch the School of Public Health Technology, designed to provide health care professional training and upskilling. Crow also mentioned the start of the ASU Medical Masters Institute, a one-year M.S. program for people who already have medical degrees and are looking for additional education.
