Construction is underway at Hospital Hill on UMKC’s largest capital investment in history, a brand new state-of-the-art healthcare building that plans to bring interdisciplinary collaboration in medicine, science and research under one roof.
The $145 million Healthcare Delivery and Innovation Building, slated to open in 2026, will bring together doctors, dentists, engineers and students, all working side by side. They will be provided with more advanced technology and new spaces intentionally designed to support research and collaboration.
UMKC is one of only 20 universities nationwide where dentistry, medicine, nursing, health studies and pharmacy are housed on a single campus, according to UMKC Director of Planning, Design, and Construction Heather Watenpaugh.
The new healthcare building is the latest addition to the UMKC Health Sciences District, where most of these programs are located.
“This monumental project underscores the university’s commitment to advancing healthcare, innovation and regional growth, positioning the UMKC Health Sciences District to emerge as a premier academic medical hub,” said Watenpaugh.
The project has seen strong support from Kansas City leadership, with civic leaders deeming it a pivotal step toward a comprehensive development plan for the district, according to Watenpaugh.
Plans for the building also include updating the School of Dentistry dental clinics that provide more than 70,000 patient visits and $500,000 in uncompensated care per year, said Watenpaugh.
With new cutting-edge dental and dental hygiene clinics, students will have the opportunity to serve more patients with advanced equipment, greater efficiency and expanded hours for acute dental care and teledentistry.
“We aim to provide students with a quality education and opportunities while also serving our community,” said Watenpaugh. “The building will support advancements in medicine, research and education while benefiting future generations of students and professionals for years to come.”
The updated clinics will provide dental students with a better understanding of the ever-evolving world of healthcare.
“There’s been so much advancement in the healthcare field as a whole and as students it’s important for us to be familiarized with these advancements in order to best serve our patients and be efficient providers,” said sophomore dental student Aumn Mohammad.
Mohammad specifically noted that the new technology will help dental students familiarize themselves with the digital dentistry practices that many dental offices use for greater efficiency and patient care.
Creating a space that fosters collaboration between medicine and dentistry is also very important, considering the overlap between the two disciplines, according to Mohammad.
“There’s a gap between medicine and dentistry that needs to be bridged because we’ve learned through our classes that there are many diseases whose signs can become apparent in the mouth early on,” said Mohammad. “We can gain a better understanding of each other’s fields to overcome it.”
The new building also places much of their work conveniently close to other health institutions such as University Health and Children’s Mercy Hospital.
“Being able to work and learn in this building is going to be a great advantage for anyone pursuing a health science career,” said Mohammad. “We have an extensive patient population at a prime location which is beneficial for both the community and the students, and that will definitely bring prospective students’ attention to UMKC.”
