More sites considered for UH med school
| • | Dobelle proposes new stadium in West O'ahu |
By John Duchemin
Advertiser Staff Writer
The fate of a new University of Hawai'i medical school that had long been planned for Kaka'ako took a new twist yesterday when UH President Evan Dobelle said he is considering three other possible sites for the school.
• A spot on UH's proposed West O'ahu campus, a concept transforming Dobelle's plans for a four-year college near Kapolei into a major academic and athletic center that could include a new football stadium.
• Near Tripler Army Medical Center, a federal hospital that could help it attract millions in government research grants. Some, including Gov. Ben Cayetano, are worried about the costs of developing on federal land.
• A site in Waipi'o-Gentry near the Costco on Ka Uka Boulevard. That location could be developed in conjunction with Pacific Health Center, an affiliate of Wahiawa General Hospital that wants to build a 210-acre biotechnology park there. The proposal is being pushed by veteran medical center planner Benjamin Rook, whose firm has helped design The Johns Hopkins Hospital, the Temple University Children's Hospital and the Massachusetts General Hospital.
Dobelle's ideas differ dramatically from past plans for the university. The proposed $140 million medical school appeared set to go into Kaka'ako until Dobelle decided to review the plans. The medical school has been in its Manoa building since the 1970s, but officials say new facilities are needed to attract quality faculty and increase medical research at UH.
Kaka'ako had received the blessing of Cayetano; the medical school's dean, Edwin Cadman; and the Legislature, which granted $13 million to improve the waterfront site.
Dobelle said that he is most interested in the West O'ahu site, but that Kaka'ako is "absolutely in the running."
"In the end, we might come back to Kaka'ako, but we have the responsibility to make sure we're going into the right spot," he said. Kaka'ako is closer to the major hospitals and the Manoa campus, but Dobelle said the site may be too small to attract major research companies to set up nearby — and a school there would create big traffic problems along Ala Moana.
Dobelle said a combined West O'ahu campus could save money by letting the medical school, stadium and college share parking, administrative buildings and other facilities. He is also interested in giving O'ahu a second legitimate state university to complement UH-Manoa.
"This all is a bit on the dreamy side of a vision, but the reality is attainable, and they didn't hire me to think small," he said.
Dobelle said that if the West O'ahu idea holds up to scrutiny, he will present it next month at the UH Board of Regents meeting on Maui.
He said money could come from private donors, federal grants — and taxpayers. Dobelle has said he doesn't want to seek additional state money in the coming fiscal year for the UH operating budget. But he said this money would be used for capital improvements, which don't fall under that budget.
He said that any of the four medical school sites could attract federal money for construction and that Sen. Daniel Inouye would play a key role in obtaining it.
Cadman said the medical school should be able to attract private money no matter where it is built. He has been trying to raise money from donors, venture investors and pharmaceutical companies to pay about half of the cost of the school.
"Location is not the main concern for them," he said, but rather that the school can be made into a first-rate center for medical and biotechnology research.
State officials who had heard of Dobelle's ideas prior to yesterday's announcement said the next important step for UH is to get everyone on the same page.
"What they need to do is sit down with the key members in the medical community — the hospitals, the academic side — and say, 'OK, where do we want to go with this, and how do you all want to participate?'" said Joe Blanco, Cayetano's special adviser on technology affairs.
