WSU, KU Med announce plans for joint Wichita medical education center

Three days after Wichita’s new downtown medical school was given the go-ahead to recruit students, Wichita State announced its plans to join forces with the University of Kansas schools of Medicine and Pharmacy in Wichita on another medical education center in the city.

Wichita’s WSU/KU Healthcare Sciences Educational Center, which is still in the early stages of planning, would be supported by a $50,000 grant from the Kansas Health Foundation.

“Not only is this new center important to improving the health outcomes for Kansans, any city that’s growing or wants to grow, has this type of facility at its core,” WSU president Rick Muma said in a news release.

“Building an academic hub to educate a proficient and highly skilled medical workforce is critical to increasing health care access and outcomes for everyone in our region.”

WSU spokesperson Lainie Mazzullo-Hart said no information is currently available about how much the center would cost, where it would be located or what the timeline for construction may be. She said the schools are still in the early stages of discussion.

Mazzullo-Hart said the joint facility would centralize health care programs offered by WSU, WSU Tech and KU’s schools of medicine and pharmacy in Wichita.

The Kansas Health Science Center - Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine, which is set to anchor pharmacist-turned-developer Sudha Tokala’s four-building downtown education complex, will welcome its first class of students next August.

“Congratulations to WSU and KU Med on this partnership,” said Tiffany Masson, president of KHSC. “It’s an exciting time for health care education in the city, and we look forward to the positive impact our institutions will have on the Wichita community and all Kansans.”

Muma, a licensed physician assistant, said Wichita’s health care sector has “enormous growth potential.”

“As we continually work to meet the needs of Kansas employers and improve the economic vitality of our region, we must offer new opportunities that attract and retain talent to Wichita,” Muma said.

A representative for the Kansas Health Foundation confirmed the grant but said officials were unavailable for comment Thursday afternoon.

KU School of Medicine-Wichita did not return a request for comment. Neither did the Kansas Board of Regents, the governing body that oversees Kansas’ six state universities.

This story was originally published December 16, 2021 at 3:01 PM.