UT Health Tyler Gifted $80M For Proposed Medical School [VIDEO]

For East Texans who have aspirations to attend medical school, but would rather stay closer to home, that dream is $80 million closer to becoming a reality.

According to a press release from UT Health, this is the "largest single contribution ever made to establish a medical school in Texas."

The hope is that this will be the beginning of more support from both private institutions and general financial support from the public.

The new endeavor is focused on "significantly transforming health education, care and outcomes in a rapidly growing region of the state."

For an already medical-focused community, the proposed medical school will create a bridge between already well-established educational options and their potential next steps.

With this sizable gift from the East Texas Medical Center Foundation, which Kirk A. Calhoun, president of the UT Health Science Center at Tyler, referred to as "monumental," this new venture has received a much needed and generous initial boost in "supporting the operations of the proposed medical school" and "will accelerate East Texas' ascendancy as a destination of choice for medical school students, physicians, and other health professionals to train and live; for families to remain and industries to locate; and to significantly improve patient outcomes."

A medical school right here in East Texas would also have a significant effect on our East Texas economies, as well--to the tune of billions of dollars and creating as many as 18,145 new jobs, according to an economic impact study by The Perryman Group.

"...developments unlike anything Tyler has ever experienced."