Medical school to open on NMSU campus in 2016

New Mexico will be getting its second school of medicine and it will be located on the New Mexico State University campus in Las Cruces.

The project comes at a price tag of $85 million, which will not come out of taxpayers pockets because it is privately funded.

The Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine at NMSU will serve 150 students in its first year when it opens in Aug. 2016.

As part of the agreement with the university, BCOM has agreed to a long-term land lease for its facility at NMSU’s Arrowhead Park. Construction on a new, 80,000-square-foot building to house the medical school

Gov. Susana Martinez said it was created specifically to address the shortage of doctors in New Mexico.

A report released by the Legislative Finance Committee in May 2013 said state residents could encounter growing problems of access to medical care due to the potential need of 2,000 physicians, 3,000 registered nurses and as many as 800 dentists.

The medical school is expected to generate $70 million into the state’s economy and create 400 permanent jobs.

Martinez went on to call the medical school a border region project with the school securing partnerships with hospitals in Las Cruces, including Mountain View Regional Medical Center, Memorial Medical Center, and Las Palmas and Del Sol medical centers in El Paso.

Read full statement by NMSU president, including more details on the medical school, at http://bit.ly/1mC0AAp