Regional Leaders Gasp at Proposed Med School's Price Tag

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Regional leaders praise the potential of a proposed King College medical school, but gasp at the idea of signing the $100 million check needed to make the vision a reality.

The private school’s plans call for a two-campus model with teaching centers near Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport and Bristol Regional Medical Center. Startup costs are estimated at $150 million, with $100 million in tax dollars to build the facilities and the balance to fund operations for its first five years.

“I know the [funding] numbers are huge. It’s a little scary what local support is needed – but it is doable,” said Richard Venable, chief executive officer of NETWORKS Sullivan Partnership, the regional economic development entity.

“It will be up to our local elected leaders to determine what course of action they take,” Venable said. “And the power lies with the people and what they want Sullivan County and the cities to look like in 25 years. I believe that vision is there.”

A former state representative and Sullivan County mayor, Venable said he can foresee a coalition between the county and its cities of Bristol, Tenn., and Kingsport, to find funding for a project that claims it could generate millions to billions of dollars in economic impact and thousands of jobs over 20 years.

“Their consultant is talking about an [annual] economic impact of $300 million – that’s almost another Bristol Motor Speedway,” Venable said.

King’s funding model is based on receiving a combination of local, state and federal funding.

“There are three important factors in developing this project. The first is community support,” college President Greg Jordan said. “People have to see the value of medical education and support it. If there is sufficient support to generate $100 million to construct the buildings, we [King] will identify resources in the private sector for operating expenses.”

The other factors – a college to operate the facility and clinical partners to provide learning opportunities and faculty – already are in place, Jordan said.

A King-commissioned study indicates the school would generate an estimated $350 million in annual economic impact and as much as $1 billion a year within 10 years. By 2035, it could be more than $2 billion a year if the facility attracted an extensive commercial research component, the study found.

A variety of funding options have been discussed on every level, including with U.S. Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., Venable said.

“Dr. Jordan and I met with Congressman Roe, and he has a lot of interest in this project. He is exploring what options might be out there for [federal] grants and through the Appalachian Regional Commission,” Venable said.

Jordan also recently presented the plan to Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, and other state leaders, Bredesen spokeswoman Lydia Lenker said.

“I can confirm there was a meeting and that it was discussed,” Lenker said.

Jordan also has outlined the program for officials at the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, including Commissioner Matt Kisber.

“We’ve made the first presentation on the state level and were pleased with the response,” Jordan said. “We are in the process of defining what that [state funding] request will be. They definitely understand the need and they understand the potential.”

Locally, the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Aldermen offered a warm reception when Jordan outlined the plans for the first time publicly at a called meeting May 5.
“We think Kingsport would be a very nice location,” Jordan told the board. “All the region’s health care systems are represented in Kingsport, and you have sites in close proximity to the clinical environment essential to medical education.”

Both the project’s initial clinical partners – Wellmont Health System and Holston Medical Group – are based in Kingsport. While King’s main campus is in Bristol, Tenn., its College of Nursing offers classes in Wellmont’s Holston Valley physicians building adjacent to Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport, plus Northeast State Technical Community College in Blountville.

“We said at the beginning we wanted to have an open discussion with the region about its health care needs and what we could do to improve the health care system,” Jordan said. “We understand they’ve got challenges with their finances. But these are pressing issues and this is an opportune time to discuss them and develop strategies to address them.”

Kingsport Mayor Dennis Phillips has been an active supporter. At the May 5 meeting, he estimated that the city’s potential contribution would be $40 million, which would mean adding 25 cents to the city’s property tax rate. “That is a number they’ve identified,” Jordan said. “At this point, we have not made a formal request.”

Phillips said it will be up to city residents to let board members know the proper course of action. Phillips and incumbent Valerie Yoh recently were re-elected to the board.

In addition to Kingsport, “very serious” conversations have been held with all area taxing authorities, Jordan said in a later interview.

“We’ve been very pleased with the response by all the municipalities,” the King College president said. “Kingsport has been very positive, Bristol Virginia has been very proactive, and we’ve had some very good discussions with Bristol, Tenn. We’ve also talked with Sullivan County.”

While Jordan has discussed the plan with Bristol Tennessee City Manager Jeff Broughton and members of his staff, he expects to speak with the full council soon.

“They’ll probably be making their presentation during our June council work session,” Broughton said. “We’ve had discussions with Dr. Jordan for probably a year to a year-and-a-half, when the idea for a King medical school first started.”

Until the full council hears the proposal and has a chance to ask questions, the city doesn’t yet have an “official” position, Broughton said.

Conversations with Bristol Virginia leaders have been “cordial” and “preliminary,” City Manager Bill Dennison said, but there’s been no request to make a formal presentation to the City Council.

“It’s an ambitious project,” Dennison said. “But if the information they put forth at their press conference six months ago is anywhere close to accurate, there seems to be a need. I don’t know if there’s any indication physicians will stay in an area to practice once they graduate from a medical school.”

Dennison said the related businesses that a medical school might attract could benefit the region.

Jordan also recently spoke to the Sullivan County Commission at the invitation of county Mayor Steve Godsey.

“With the numbers that Dr. Jordan is putting out there – for the economic impact on the region – at the least, the cities, county and state of Tennessee have to
take a serious look at it,” Godsey said. “If these [impact] numbers are accurate – and I would think they would be – they are staggering. And we should at least take it to the next step.”

Despite having the potential of “another Eastman,” Godsey doesn’t foresee any local taxing authority willing to increase property tax rates enough to fund the project. He suggested that long-term financing might be a viable option.

“The way to do this might be a bond issue that could be paid back over time. If we involve other entities like Virginia and five or six other counties – whose people would attend school there and be treated at those hospitals – none of us would be on the hook for that much,” Godsey said.

A former state legislator, Godsey predicted that any state funding would have to come through the Department of Economic and Community Development since Department of Education funds couldn’t be used to bankroll a private school’s project.

dmcgee@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2532