The University of the Virgin Islands held a ribbon cutting of its state-of-the-art School of Medicine classroom building and biomedical laboratory in St. Thomas Tuesday, according to a press release.
The event signaled a transformative advancement in UVI’s vision to establish an accredited medical school in the Virgin Islands. Members of the medical community, UVI Board of Trustees and the Foundation for the University, UVI’s incoming president Safiya George, and federal and local officials gathered to tour the facilities and hear remarks, the release stated.
The two-story, 33,876 square foot School of Medicine classroom building features an anatomy lab with virtual dissecting tables; a 100-seat lecture hall, large seminar rooms and conference room all with SMART classroom technology; a 1,200 square foot clinical skills lab for group instruction; six individual clinical skills rooms for private instruction; and 5,000 square feet of administration space, according to the release.
The adjoining state-of-the-art biomedical lab includes both wet and dry labs and will recruit national researchers and experts in biomedical fields of infectious diseases. The biomedical lab will also house the Biomedical Laboratory Certificate Program with funding from a Title III grant of $1.2 Million over five years, stated the release.
“Today’s ribbon-cutting ceremony underscores the collaborative efforts and steadfast support from stakeholders and philanthropists dedicated to advancing health care in the Virgin Islands,” said David Hall in his last official event as university president.
“The journey towards having a medical school has been a long and winding road, with many challenges along the way, as well as numerous milestones of tremendous success. The opening of the School of Medicine classroom building and biomedical laboratory and medical research and training center marks a monumental step towards enhancing medical education and, ultimately, the health and wellbeing of Virgin Islanders,” he added.
UVI’s School of Medicine’s founding dean, Tai-Hunte Ceaser said, “As a Virgin Islander who enrolled in Howard University, a historically black college and university, for my own medical education, I understand firsthand the difficult yet transformative power of access to healthcare education. I am truly excited to begin working in this building once accreditation is established which will result in UVI’s School of Medicine becoming one of the few LCME U.S. accredited HBCU medical schools in the nation and the only in the Caribbean.”
Speaking on behalf of the V.I. Legislature, Senate President Novelle Francis stated, “My colleagues and I are committed to this process by ensuring that funds are appropriated to support our healthcare institutions and their mission to provide quality care for our community. I look forward to seeing these spaces in action and for our Territory to reap the short and long-term benefits from the professionals who will take classes here. My colleagues and I are so honored to have played a small part in bringing this project to life.”
Offering his congratulations to the UVI community, Gov. Albert Bryan, Jr. remarked, “I think the theme of today that resonates the most with me is that of optimism, hope and faith.” Noting several major Territorial projects including UVI’s Medical Simulation Center and the ground-breaking of the School of Nursing facilities on the Albert A. Sheen Campus, he said, “It is evident where our intentions are in the Virgin Islands to create a populus of progressive and successful people…”
