It has the trappings of a pitch-perfect storm–where synergy and enlightened self-interest intersect. Where the right people at the right time with the right missions fortuitously converge.
No, we’re obviously not talking about baseball-stadium scenarios for downtown. We’re talking about something more important and more doable: a downtown USF medical school.
First things first.
The Morsani College of Medicine–and affiliated health programs–is overcrowded. That’s manifestly evident.
The state of Florida agrees and has backed it up by budgeting $5 million for USF to begin planning for a new med school. That’s a de facto down payment. Currently perched in the pipeline: USF trustees’ requests for $57 million over three years to build what they’re now planning.
Reportedly, the funding request is a “high priority” for the university. At this month’s board of governors’ meeting, USF will share specifics–from research and patient care to economic-development implications. And did we mention economic development?
This isn’t high-speed rail. This isn’t Medicaid expansion. This will happen.
Where it happens is the key.
Enter the two biggest proponents of downtown Tampa: Mayor Bob Buckhorn and Tampa Bay Lightning owner/real estate developer/ urban visionary Jeff Vinik.
Mayor Bob, of course, doesn’t miss a rhetorical beat. It would be a “game changer,” he assures.
“I am very, very hopeful and will do whatever I can to make it happen and encourage them to move downtown,” the mayor told the Tribune. “A university or a portion of a university in your urban core pays huge dividends for the city and, in this case, for USF.” And did the mayor mention that he was very, very hopeful? Perhaps he has insider encouragement.
As for Team Vinik, it doesn’t want to pull a Syniverse and get ahead of itself. But neither does it wish to play down the obvious upsides.
“We understand the value that an increased USF presence could have for our downtown and also understand how an urban school could benefit the University,” a Team-Vinik statement said. “This is a model we have seen in many other urban centers and we look forward to supporting USF’s leaders as they explore this and other ideas that help make the university and our region succeed.”
And for good measure, Frank Morsani, the eponymous philanthropist behind the college of medicine, is bullish on a downtown site as well. “It would be an asset to the city and to Tampa General Hospital and give a real presence to our city,” underscored Morsani.
And speaking of Tampa General, it’s also in the news cycle. That’s because its relatively new CEO, Jim Burkhart, is very much in favor of much stronger ties with USF Health. This is important because Davis Islands-based TGH is the primary teaching hospital for USF medical residents. No less important is that new USF med school dean, Dr. Charles Lockwood, agrees with Burkhart on an ever-closer relationship with a new level of cooperation and coordination.
Their predecessors were not nearly as simpatico. That worked in nobody’s behalf.
The symbiotic USF-TGH connection, along with USF’s cutting-edge, 2-year-old Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS) on Franklin Street, reminds us that a viable downtown-area, academic-medicine niche already exists.
It makes eminent sense to build on this foundation to advance the twin causes of medical science and medical service–all the while playing a catalytic role in the further revitalization of downtown Tampa. Call it win-win-win for a healthier Tampa Bay.
For now, USF is officially non-committal as its explores location scenarios for a new medical school. It’s doing its diligence, as it should. But its role in the growth and vibrancy of the Tampa Bay region, including its economic hub of Tampa, is a familiar one.
It goes without saying that USF President Judy Genshaft gets it.
She formerly chaired the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, the Committee of 100 (since rebranded as the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp.) and the Tampa Bay Partnership. She’s made USF a major player in corporate recruiting and a collaborative force in partnership with local and state governments and regional business leaders.
And she knows better than anyone that USF wouldn’t be worth $3.7 billion in annual, Tampa Bay economic impact were it to comport itself as a North Tampa ivory tower removed from academic application in the real world.
President Genshaft is very much a part of this pitch-perfect storm.