Joe Jarosz
Northeast News
March 27, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — A Northeast college is expanding, not just in the area, but throughout Missouri.

On Thursday, March 26, during the Investiture ceremony, Dr. Marc B. Hahn, the fourteenth president of Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, announced the school has purchased the Capri Motel, 1437 E. Independence Ave. The building sits across the street from the Northeast campus.

Hahn added the building will eventually come down and the area will be turned into green space.
Bobbi Baker-Hughes, CEO of the Northeast Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, said the Chamber and Independence Avenue Community Improvement District are excited about this new development for the Paseo Gateway.

“We look forward to ongoing development of the [Paseo] Gateway into the Independence Avenue Corridor,” Baker-Hughes said.

Joplin Campus

Along with the acquisition, the university also announced plans to develop an additional medical school campus in Joplin, Mo. The campus is scheduled to open in 2017 with 150 additional students in the doctor of osteopathic medicine program. In a prepared statement, Hahn said the expansion allows the university an opportunity to help address the rural health care needs for Missouri and the region.

The KCU College of Osteopathic Medicine Joplin campus will be the first new medical school
location to open in Missouri in 44 years. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon said in a statement the investment by KCU will further strengthen Joplin’s two major hospitals and bolster the city’s position as a hub for health services and innovation for the four-state region.

“I applaud KCU for making this forward-looking investment and congratulate Joplin on achieving another significant milestone that will improve the region’s health and economy for years to come,” Nixon said.

According to the release, the development of the KCU College of Osteopathic Medicine Joplin campus will be a collaborative effort involving Mercy Hospital Joplin, Freeman Health System, the city of Joplin and philanthropic leadership from the surrounding community. Mercy plans to donate the property and because it is a Catholic hospital, it is awaiting final approval of the donation from the Vatican. The site served as Mercy’s temporary hospital since 2012. The 150,000-square-foot facility was constructed by Mercy at a cost of $100 million, will enable KCU and its partners to move quickly in establishing the campus.

Gary Pulsipher, president of Mercy Hospital Joplin, said Mercy couldn’t be more delighted to support KCU and the education of new physicians by, “enabling our former hospital facility to be repurposed as a place of learning.”