By Encarnacion Pyle

The Columbus Dispatch Monday June 11, 2012 3:40 PM

Ohio University and the Cleveland Clinic announced this afternoon that they have agreed to develop a $49.1 million medical-school campus to help fill a growing need for primary-care doctors in northeast Ohio.

Ohio University will contribute $36 million towards the extension campus that will be at the Cleveland Clinics South Pointe Hospital, a 179-bed acute-care community teaching hospital that has served the citys southeast suburbs since 1957, officials said at a news conference.

The Cleveland campus is expected to open with 32 students in July 2015.

Cleveland Clinic and the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine share a dedication to excellence in patient care, research and medical education, Dr. Toby M. Cosgrove, the Cleveland Clinics president and CEO said in a news release. This collaboration will help improve quality for patients, stimulate medical innovation and improve the economic health of our communities.

OU is working on similar, $24 million medical college campus in Dublin with OhioHealth.

The Dublin City Council unanimously voted in April to give the Athens university 70 acres surrounding the property and two buildings that OU is buying at 7001-7003 Post Rd., just off Rts. 161/33 interchange. The college is expected to open with at least 50 students in fall 2014.

The money from Ohio University for the Cleveland project will be used to renovate a building on the South Pointe campus, as well as pay for staff, faculty and operations costs for the campus. The Cleveland Clinic will provide $13.1 million for capital improvements and renovations to the building and staff and operational support.

Cleveland Clinic officials also have committed to increasing its post-graduate residency and fellowship positions for students. After graduation, young doctors are required to do three to seven years of residency training under the supervision of more-experienced physicians before they can take medical-board exams and go into practice.

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OU, Cleveland Clinic announce new medical-school campus