Talon said

They also just finished two new hangers, but what would be interesting is to see a School of Aeronautics at some point.

owldaylong said

This is good news except for more traffic on campus and could move us even further from a traditional campus. Have we been approved for a full 4 year medical school or are we just the first two years in partnership with Miami?

FAU, Boca Raton Community Hospital approve-campus teaching hospital

By Erika Pesantes
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted June 29 2006


Florida Atlantic University and Boca Raton Community Hospital approved a lease agreement Wednesday that secures a new home for an on-campus teaching hospital, which will allow the expansion of the existing two-year medical program to four years and permit students to complete their residencies in Palm Beach County.

"We see this as a whole transformation of both healthcare and biomedical research in Palm Beach County," said Dr. Michael Friedland, vice president of medical programs at FAU. "With Scripps leading biotech development and this four-year medical education program, it's not hard to imagine that we could become the leader in South Florida – in both healthcare and biomedical research."

FAU will continue to run the medical program, which began in 2004, in partnership with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

However, students will no longer have to do their clinical rotations at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, as they must now. With the new $638 million hospital, scheduled to be built on 38 acres on the southeast corner of FAU's Boca Raton campus, students will be able to complete their clinical training on the grounds.

"I just think it's a very exciting time to be here," Friedland said.

FAU's Board of Trustees and Boca Raton Community Hospital's Board negotiated a 67-year, $28 million lease, said Paul Risner, general counsel for the Boca Raton Community Hospital.

Groundbreaking for the hospital is expected in late 2008, with completion expected in 2011, Risner said. Further state approval is needed as the planning progresses, he said.

"It's full speed ahead for us," he said.

The 530-bed, private room hospital would help create about 50 full-time faculty positions and offer training for about 125 residents, Friedland said.

The new hospital also would boast student conference rooms, resident sleeping quarters with lockers and a medical library with IT systems.

The design also calls for standardizing the room layouts, with equipment and features placed to help prevent incidents such as medication errors and falls, said John Reiling, project manager for the new hospital.

"Standardized facilities help people make routine activities more accurately," he said.

Erika Pesantes can be reached at [email protected] or 561-243-6602.