Governor M. Jodi Rell today submitted testimony to the Legislature’s Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee in support of her proposal to create a landmark new partnership that would reinvigorate the UConn Health Center, bolster the schools of medicine and dentistry at the University of Connecticut and reinvent the way health care is delivered throughout Connecticut.
“This proposal is a prescription for greater access to health care, hastening job creation, training our future health care work force and spurring future economic development,” Governor Rell said. “My goal is not only to improve the overall health of the UConn Health Center, which has struggled for several years, but to revitalize the health care system and the economy of our state – both of which are in need of the proverbial shot in the arm.”
Governor Rell’s proposal is made in conjunction with UConn UConn’s schools of medicine and dentistry, John Dempsey Hospital, Hartford Hospital, Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and other health care facilities and providers. The plan calls for construction of a new, state-of-the-art patient tower and renovation of the UConn Health Center campus in Farmington.
The updated teaching hospital will have increased classroom and lab space – training space that will help offset an expected shortage in medical and dental professionals. It will also have a nationally recognized cancer center and specialized institutes and advanced training open to health care professionals across Connecticut.
The new training centers and lab space would help lift the medical school and dental school into national rankings and create thousands of jobs, as well as training future doctors, dentists, technicians and other medical practitioners.
The $352 million price tag for Governor Rell’s proposal is far lower than the cost of earlier plans. The Governor proposal assumes $100 million in federal funding – money that must be approved before the project moves forward.
Assuming the federal funds are forthcoming, the plan also requires $25 million for design and planning that is to come from already approved UConn 21st Century funding and $227 million in future state bonding.
Projections call for as many as 5,000 new jobs to be created through new UConn Health Network by 2020 and up to 6,800 new jobs by 2030 – not including associated jobs in the private sector. Other returns on investment would include:
· $1.5 billion annually in new personal income in 2040
· $1 billion annually in new Gross Domestic State Product
