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Changes afoot at
UH med school
A new building downtown and
By Helen Altonn
a venture with Tripler and the
VA are projected
Star-BulletinPlans will be developed before the next state Legislature meets to build a University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine away from the Manoa campus.
Gov. Ben Cayetano has suggested razing the state Health Department building at 1250 Punchbowl St. to make way for a new medical school downtown.
"To me, the medical school should be something we show off to people," Cayetano said.
He doesn't care what the design is like, "But up front, I want everybody to see the John A. Burns School of Medicine. It's that kind of symbolism, that kind of visibility, that will get people's attention."
Lawmakers this year allocated $900,000 to plan the new school.
Federal legislation also is pending to provide $2.5 million to study the feasibility of a research partnership among Tripler Army Medical Center, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the medical school on Tripler's grounds.
"I do not view these things as mutually exclusive," said Dr. Edwin Cadman, dean of the medical school. "A lot of medical schools have VA relationships ... But ideally, we need a new school; we need new educational space."
Educational programs could be in a school downtown closer to hospitals, with students and some basic research related to patients and diagnosis. The UH School of Public Health possibly could be at that site, he said.
Other research, such as geriatrics and neurosciences, could be at Tripler, where the VA has a new outpatient facility and geriatrics facility, he said.
"It would be exciting if we could create a VA research center."
Cayetano suggested the Health Department site after considering other locations and talking to UH President Kenneth Mortimer, Cadman and legislative leaders.
He envisions Hawaii as the health care center of the Pacific, which he said requires "a real commitment to the medical school. And Dean Cadman's vision for turning that school into, I think he calls it a medical bioscience research center, is quite exciting."
He said Cadman "has a five-year plan to get the whole thing in place. It would be a real boost to the state."
Rep. Dennis Arakaki (D, Kamehameha Heights-Kalihi Valley) had introduced a resolution to put the medical school at Punchbowl and Miller streets, where the Queen Liliuokalani Building sits. It houses state education and human services offices.
But Arakaki said he agrees with Cayetano's choice of the Health Department site. "It would be more prominent, across from the Mabel Smythe Auditorium and the medical library."
He said the health, education and human services functions could be consolidated in one building. Use of the nearby Hemmeter Building, being acquired by the state, is another possibility, he said.
U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, who requested the study for a collaborative research facility at Tripler, said it would complement a medical school in town. He said he has talked to Cayetano, Mortimer and Cadman and believes they are all on the same track.
Part of the federal study would be to see what kind of compatible relationships can be developed, he said. "I'm very excited about it. It offers a terrific opportunity for us in improving the economy, as well as the prestige of the university."
The proposal is to build a 200,000-square-foot research facility at Tripler to be shared by the medical school, the VA and Tripler. It would include an animal facility, clinical research center, and educational, academic and laboratory research space.
By sharing costly resources, the three entities will be able to make their funding go further for research, health care and teaching, Abercrombie said.
"I don't think the state by itself has any capacity to build, let alone staff, a medical school that meets 21st century standards."
Cadman said he's "had wonderful discussions and working relationships" with VA and Tripler officials and staff. He also met with Hawaii's congressional delegates in Washington to discuss a research campus at Tripler.
The idea would be to look at "how could we come together and create a biomedical campus there that supports all our missions collectively," he said.
Cadman said he came here from Yale University to develop a medical research enterprise, which is essential if Hawaii is to become a health state and encourage biotechnology industries.
"Almost all biotechnology industry is associated with results of research going on at major medical centers around the country."
Cadman said he wouldn't expect the state to pay all the costs of a new medical school. "It would be a wonderful opportunity to go out and raise private funds ..."
When he was being recruited for the dean's position, he said plans were to renovate the 30-year-old medical building on the Manoa campus at a cost of $3 million a floor.
He pointed out that "to retrofit it for modern research and education is more expensive than starting over brand new."
The governor decided instead to use the money to develop a plan for a new building to present to the next Legislature, Cadman said.
He said he has begun to recruit faculty members who "would be leaders to help get a good building" with federal grants and private support.
The University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine at a glance: STUDENTS, FACULTY,
COURSES, BUDGET
Enrolled: 231 students, of whom 53 received doctor of medicine degrees last Sunday. It accepts 62 students each year.
Ka Leo O Hawaii
