Kansas City (Mo.) University of Medicine and Biosciences' College of Osteopathic Medicine announced Thursday its plans were approved to open a new Joplin, Mo., medical campus.
The new campus is an expansion of KCU's existing College of Osteopathic Medicine and will provide 150 more students per year the opportunity to train at the new site. The school will be housed in a facility that served as the temporary site of Mercy Hospital Joplin until last weekend when the new hospital facility opened. Mercy plans to donate the hospital to KCU pending approval from the Vatican.
The Joplin community and the Joplin Regional Medical School Alliance pledged $30 million to help develop the campus and Joplin-based Freeman Health System also pledged to give a multimillion dollar donation and provide residencies and training for future students.
The new Joplin campus will be the first new medical school location to open in Missouri in nearly 45 years.
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