FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 15, 1999
Contact: Sarah Ellis (303) 315-5571, [email protected]
Poll: Voters Support State Contributions to Medical Research
Nine out of ten citizens favor state support for University of Colorado Health Sciences Center's new campus at Fitzsimons
Voters throughout Colorado support the State of Colorado's contributions to building a new campus for the University of Colorado Health Sciences on the site of the former Fitzsimons Army Medical Center. In a survey completed last month, 88 percent of the respondents favored the project, in part for its support to medical research. Voters also emphasized the importance of medical research to health, jobs and the Colorado economy.
The significant majority of residents, 79 percent, also supports efforts on behalf of Colorado to offer financial incentives to attract medical research, such as labs and biotechnology companies. Eighty-six percent of the respondents believe spending money on medical research can benefit Colorado's economy in terms of jobs and incomes.
"This is a vitally important message," said James Shore, MD, chancellor of the CU-Health Sciences Center. "We are delighted that Colorado residents recognize the long-range, and statewide, benefits of building the new campus at Fitzsimons. We expect the increased research space on the new campus will attract millions of new dollars in grants and contracts for medical research to improve the health of all Americans."
Currently only 3 cents of every health care dollar is spent on medical research. According to 66 percent of Colorado residents, this nation should double research funding over the next five years.
"Congress' proposal to double funding for medical research is extremely important, but it will require increased research space across the United States," Dr. Shore said. "The CU-Health Sciences Center's plan to double its research capacity on the new campus -- from 750,000 gross square feet to 1.5 million gross square feet -- is proving to be a national model of the next generation of medical research facilities.
"In the past ten years, our internationally renowned faculty has tripled sponsored-research programs at the CU-Health Sciences Center, to more than $167 million in 1998," Dr. Shore added. "But much more work still needs to be done in disease prevention, treatment and cures."
The poll of 800 Coloradans was conducted for Research!America, a non-profit advocacy organization, by Charlton Research Company in collaboration with Louis Harris and Associates. Seventeen local organizations sponsored the survey, including the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, the CU Foundation; The Children's Hospital; the Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority; National Jewish Medical Center; CU Boulder; CU Colorado Springs; CU Denver; CU-Health Sciences Center; the CU schools of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Graduate School; University Hospital, the Denver Research Institute (representing the Veteran's Administration Medical Center) and Webb-Waring Institute for Cancer, Aging and Antioxident Research.
The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center is one of four campuses in the University of Colorado system. Located in Denver, Colo., the campus includes schools of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and dentistry, a graduate school and two hospitals.
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