Mizzou touts progress of Springfield medical program after budget scare – Springfield News-Leader

Scott Miller, who is in his fourth year at the University of Missouri's Springfield Clinical Campus, says he's had a good experience in the two years he's been in the Queen City of the Ozarks studying to be a doctor. Wochit

People gather outside of the banquet room at the White River Conference Center to celebrate the anniversary of the University of Missouri Springfield Clinical Campus on Friday, May 19, 2017.(Photo: Andrew Jansen/News-Leader)Buy Photo

Fresh off surviving a budget scare, a Mizzou-backed medical program in Springfield is gearing up for its first birthday.

The Springfield Clinical Campus, which is a partnership between the University of Missouri School of Medicine, CoxHealth and Mercy Springfield, started last June and plans to see more than 60 MU medical school students through the end of their education by 2020.

University officials say they hope the program will help fill a shortage of doctors in rural areas, which is a problem in Missouri and across the country.

Scott Miller, who is in his fourth year at the University of Missouri's Springfield Clinical Campus, says he and his classmates havehad a good experience in the two years he's been in the Queen City of the Ozarks studying to be a doctor.

"Throughout the yearwe've been so fortunate," Miller said. "We've worked one-on-one with doctors pretty much every day in various specialties at both Cox and Mercy.

Dr. Andy Evans, speaks during the anniversary of the University of Missouri Springfield Clinical Campus on Friday, May 19, 2017.(Photo: Andrew Jansen/News-Leader)

The hope is that students like Miller stay in the area or at least in state, said Patrice Delafontaine, dean of the MU School of Medicine, who added that more than 60 percent of graduates stay in Missouri.

Delafontaine said the clinic represents the hopes of a long-term collaboration with both Mercy and Cox.

But in order to go "full-steam" next year, Delafontaine said, the program will need its funding restored.

The expansion was slated to receive $10 million, but Gov. Eric Greitens withheld $4 million in January, and his initial budget recommendations didn't fund the Springfield expansion at all.

$5 million dollars was eventually restored for next year, and the university drew on reserve funds to keep the program going this year.Delafontaine can't say whether the other half of the expansion's funding will be replenished, but he said he was optimistic.

The Springfield campusis tied into expansion plans in Columbia where the state's flagship university is located. A $42.5 million facility at MU is expected to open in July, according to a news release.

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Mizzou touts progress of Springfield medical program after budget scare - Springfield News-Leader