T. LOUIS — A new four-year medical school with the goal of diversifying the medical workforce with doctors who want to work in poor urban and rural areas is coming to north St. Louis.
Plans call for construction to begin late this year and opening with a freshman class of 150 in fall of 2022.
Ponce Health Sciences University, with a main campus in Puerto Rico and a branch in St. Louis, is scheduled to announce an $80 million commitment to develop the new campus at Jefferson and Cass avenues at a media event Friday.
In an interview with the Post-Dispatch, the president of Ponce, Dr. David Lenihan, said the university’s goal is to provide opportunities for minority and low-income students who fail to get a spot in a traditional medical school but show promise to succeed.