Back in 1998, FAMU President Frederick S. Humphries and then-Provost James H. Ammons announced a proposal for a Doctor of Medicine degree at the university. FAMU’s request went unmet even as FSU, FIU, UCF, and FAU received medical schools in the years that followed.Some Jacksonville leaders are now making a public push to bring a medical school to their city. They are not happy about the fact that the University of Florida and University North Florida have both said no.
“Jacksonville is one of very few large cities across America that does not have a medical school,” said T. O’Neal Douglas, chairman of the Healthcare and Bioscience Council of Northeast Florida.
The council has been exploring ways to develop a medical school in Jacksonville since 2007.
“A medical school is an important component of a high-quality, credible academic health science center, which is the nexus of a vibrant healthcare and bioscience community,” O’Neal said on behalf of the council.
Council members had hoped that UF would create a four-year campus at its Regional Health Center/Shands Jacksonville. But UF officials say that will not happen.
“Due to a lack of state funding, we have been assured that there is NO PLAN to increase the number of medical students, medical residencies or in any way enhance the Academic Health Science Center in Jacksonville,” O’Neal said.
The council report took a swipe at UF’s “lack of state funding” excuse by pointing out that the university has plans to pump over half-a-billion dollars into its Gainesville medical campus.
“The University of Florida recently released a $580 million five year plan intended to enhance the University of Florida Health Science Center in Gainesville. It does not address our issues in Jacksonville,” O’Neal stated.
O’Neal said that the council is questioning whether it should simply move on with its medical school goal without UF’s support since “it appears that the University of Florida does not have the means or willingness to partner effectively in our growth.”
The Healthcare and Bioscience Council has hit a dead end with UNF, too.
“We’re focused on growing at our own pace and being one of the best undergraduate institutions in the state,” UNF President John Delaney told the Jacksonville Times-Union. “If I was given $60 million, I wouldn’t use it on a med school. I’d use it to improve our existing programs — every time.”
The Jacksonville community has shown strong support for FAMU’s health science education expansion plans. The Times-Union editorialized in favor of FAMU’s College of Dental Medicine proposal. It also provided positive coverage when FAMU tried to save a Jacksonville-based dental clinic that UF decided to shut down. FAMU currently runs a satellite pharmacy school training site in Jacksonville.
FAMU’s current administration has not yet commented about the future steps for the university’s long-held medical school goal.