Year after year, the summer season at Heersink School of Medicine is full of activity. For many industries, summer means a slower pace, but at our academic medical center, the season is lively and eventful. We are always in a forward motion. Our faculty, staff, and learners constantly evolve and pursue progress.
In each of our mission areas, big initiatives are happening this summer.
On June 28, we broke ground on the Biomedical Research and Psychology Building—an eight-story, $190 million facility that will house Heersink biomedical science faculty and the College of Arts and Sciences psychology faculty together. The wet and dry laboratories will offer flexibility for investigators from many fields and disciplines. In this building, the future of science at UAB will propel forward, driving important discoveries in human health. I look forward to the opportunities the new space will bring for our research mission area.
In patient care, a transformational opportunity was announced in June that will optimize care in Alabama. The Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama System approved an agreement for the UAB Health System Authority to assume ownership of Ascension St. Vincent’s in central Alabama. Sites of care include five hospitals in the Birmingham metropolitan area, as well as the One Nineteen Ambulatory Surgery Center, the Trussville Freestanding Emergency Department, and other centers and clinics that are part of Ascension Medical Group. I am excited by the impact it will have on the lives we serve in our region and how it will expand our clinical care scope.
We also continue to ramp up engagement with our community in several ways this summer, one of which is the ongoing partnership between the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) and Lakeshore Foundation. In July, Heersink School of Medicine and PM&R are proud to sponsor a pre-games dinner to honor the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Partnerships like these support programs that empower individuals living with disabilities to lead healthy and active lives.
Big news was announced in June in our education mission area. A first-of-its-kind-in-the-Southeast graduate degree program at Heersink School of Medicine is now enrolling students in a dynamic educational experience. The Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence equips learners with skills required to excel in the evolving intersection of medicine and artificial intelligence.
This is a unique degree program in the Birmingham medical community that will enable engineers, computer scientists, and future clinical practitioners to adopt an integrated approach to improving human health that leverages artificial intelligence. We are meeting the growing demand for professional education and technical expertise at the graduate level for training in artificial intelligence in medicine.
From a new degree to a hospital acquisition, these are just a few of the big ways we are constantly evolving and moving forward at Heersink School of Medicine. Our innovation is continuous, and I am proud of the momentum we are making in Alabama, the Southeast, and beyond.
I want to express my gratitude for the hard work and dedication of our staff, faculty, and trainees. Because of your commitment and efforts, we have been able to achieve so much over the past few months.
Thank you for your resilience, enthusiasm, and contributions.