The SIU School of Medicine and Southern Illinois Healthcare came together on Tuesday, June 19, 2018 to break ground on a new clinic and teaching facility in Carbondale.
The 40,000 square foot building will house medical residents and students in the physician assistant program. It will provide expanded space for teaching and patient care and help provide healthcare to Southern Illinois.
The number of students who stay to practice in the rural community is much higher than the national average.
"Nearly 30% of the graduates at the SIU Carbondale residency program, 60 out of 188 total graduates, have chosen to start their career and live here in Southern Illinois," SIH Chief Operating Officer Bart Millstead said.
"Those family physicians and those PAs have become the heart and soul of medical care in Southern Illinois," said Jerry Kruse, dean of the School of Medicine.
The project is a partnership between the SIU School of Medicine and SIH. It will cost $17 million dollars and create 300 new construction jobs.
The building is scheduled to be completed by May 2019.