Construction Begins on Joint Health Sciences Center in Camden

On Oct 19, 2017

Governor Chris Christie joined federal, state and local leaders to break ground on the Joint Health Sciences Center, a national model facility being constructed in Camden to provide innovative education and training opportunities for a new generation of healthcare professionals.

Scholars from two four-year institutions, two medical schools and a county college will collaborate at this new center, sharing laboratories, equipment and classrooms to improve outcomes and lower the financial burden on medical students and taxpayers.

“The next generation of health care professionals from New Jersey’s finest institutions will join forces at this state-of-the-art center in Camden, where they will be educated and trained to save, protect and change countless lives,” Governor Christie said. “This bipartisan development is a national model, leveraging the resources of several medical schools, universities and colleges to save taxpayers and students money. We are again breaking new ground to bolster the regional economy, create jobs and continue transforming Camden into a medical and health sciences center for New Jersey. Don’t blink, because City Invincible will soon be renowned as America’s hub of health care innovation.”

The 95,000-square-foot Joint Health Sciences Center is scheduled to open in spring 2019 for students who attend Rutgers-Camden, Rowan University, the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine and Camden County College. It will create facilities for allied health programs, biomedical research laboratories, a state-of-the-art medical stimulation capacity and a center for successful aging. This development at the intersection of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Broadway will generate an approximately $72 million in economic impact in the City of Camden, in addition to providing regional economic benefits and local jobs.

To fund this project, the Christie administration has awarded $50 million through the Biomedical Facilities Act to the Rowan/Rutgers-Camden Joint Board of Governors; approximately $10 million in Capital Improvement Fund bonds for a floor designed as an incubator space for interdisciplinary and integrative translation research; and nearly $6 million in voter-approved GO Bonds to Camden County College for a floor that will house health services training programs to directly provide community members with educational and employment opportunities.

“Thanks to Governor Chris Christie, Congressman Donald Norcross and Senate President Steve Sweeney for the first time in New Jersey, one facility will co-locate important functions of two, four-year institutions, two medical schools and a county college, all with the goal of providing a continuum of research, education and training opportunities,” said Kris Kolluri, Chief Executive Officer of the Joint Board of Governors, established in 2012 by Governor Christie’s action to enhance “eds and meds” assets in Camden, develop a meaningful health sector research presence in the city and build a new South Jersey economic growth platform.

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