Ellis Fischel Cancer Center to get more than $31 million

By Robby Lewis

Published Feb. 1, 2008

The Missouri House Budget Committee agreed unanimously to pass a bill that would use money from the Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative to help fund the construction of the new Ellis Fischel Cancer Center at MU and the Pharmacy and Nursing Building at UM-Kansas City.

The Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative is a proposal that became law Aug. 28, 2007, and sold assets from the state student loan agency, the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority.

Rep. Allen Icet, R-Wildwood, the Budget Committee chairman, said this bill would provide money to buildings that were overlooked last session.

“What we are attempting to do with the bill is trying to make sure that these buildings that were excluded from last year’s budget receive the money that they need,” Icet said.

Icet said the budget committee’s unanimous decision is only the first step to getting the bill passed.

“The bills have been voted out of the House Budget Committee,” Icet said. “So next week, we will do what we have to get the bill passed by the entire house. And from there, it will go to the governor.”

Rep. Judy Baker, D-Columbia, said she believes the bill will be passed shortly because it passed unanimously in committee.

“That’s a good sign that it is on the fast track,” Baker said.

The Ellis Fischel Cancer Center will receive more than $31 million and the Pharmacy and Nursing Building will receive roughly $15 million. The money for these buildings has been talked about since the previous fiscal year.

Ted Farnen, chief of staff for Sen. Chuck Graham, D-Columbia, said he feels the bill was taken away prematurely during the last fiscal year and that he was frustrated with the way debate on the bill was carried.

“It’s a very different process from last year,” Farnen said.

The fiscal year starts in July and ends the following July, Farnen said. In this case, the bill was moved up to the supplemental fiscal year, which is a means for planning appropriations for the current year.

“We are usually planning ahead,” Farnen said. “For this, we are planning for the current budget year, which makes it much faster.”

Farnen said Graham supports the bill.

“Sen. Graham very much supports the $31 million for Ellis Fischel,” Farnen said. “He supported it last year. It’s not like Sen. Graham has the power to kill things. The money they are hoping to use for that is the money coming from the MOHELA proceeds.”

UM Health Care spokeswoman Mary Jenkins said in an e-mail that the bill would help pay for the building’s construction, which will cost an estimated $52 million.

“It will deliver the high-quality, comprehensive cancer care Ellis Fischel is known for in a new facility on the University Hospital campus,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins said this has been a goal of UM Health Care’s since 2005.

“Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in Missouri — more than 12,000 deaths each year,” Jenkins said. “The funding will enable Ellis Fischel Cancer Center to expand services to cancer patients across the state.”

Jenkins said the new building will help recruit and retain physicians.

Icet said once the bill has passed, he expects it will go into effect quickly.

“I would estimate by the end of February, the bill would be on the governor’s desk and he will sign the bill right away,” Icet said. “The funding will be available immediately and the construction will begin.”