Drew University Plans Expansions

Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science on Nov. 15 will ask the University of California Board of Regents to expand the school from a two-year partnership with UC-Los Angeles to a four-year institution that will maintain the relationship with UCLA, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Susan Kelly, university president, and Assembly member Mervyn Dymally (D-Compton) will present the expansion plan, which includes:

A $33 million building to house an accelerated nursing school;
A new building to replace temporary clinics and provide a permanent research center; and
The rebuilding of the residency programs beginning in 2008 (Balzar, Los Angeles Times, 11/5).

Outlook

The proposed expansion will be presented two weeks after the university announced that it will close its residency program and lose its national accreditation. The decision was made after the school's affiliate hospital -- Martin Luther King Jr./Drew University Hospital -- failed a federal inspection and lost its eligibility to participate in Medicare, leaving the school with no primary teaching site for its residents (California Healthline, 11/2).

Drew University administrators are working to help medical residents find other institutions to complete their studies and are asking Los Angeles County to continue paying the salaries for residents until the programs close in July (Los Angeles Times, 11/5).

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