HARRISON COUNTY, Miss.- Officials announced last week that a “medical city” will be constructed in the Tradition community of Harrison County. The city will consist of a partnership with Cleveland Clinic and the National Diabetes & Obesity Research Institute.
The medical city is modeled after Lake Nona Medical City in Florida and Houston’s Texas Medical Center and MD Anderson Cancer Center. Governor Phil Bryant and others said the city will create a foundation of research in the Gulf Coast community.
However, this is not the first presence of health care facilities to come to the area.
“You have the nursing center, William Carey pharmacy that has come,” said Senator Brice Wiggins.”So this is an addition, or an anchor for the medical community.”
Projects planned for the Tradition Town Center site include:
- The Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College began construction in June for a new nursing school. This is funded by the state
- The Gulfport Memorial Hospital has plans to build there.
The National Diabetes & Obesity Research Institute plans to open a new facility. Completion is expected by 2018. It is funded by Canizaro. - William Cary will have its School of Pharmacy located there by 2018. The RESTORE Act grant and private donations will fund the project.
- Housing, retail, and restaurant developers are beginning construction plans.
As it pertains to the new research facility;
“It’s going to be the facility to research diabetes and figure out what’s going on and how to treat diabetes,” said Wiggins.
Wiggins said that not only is the medical world going to improve on the coast but an overall quality of life has gone up with the incoming of new casinos, and the aquarium.
“The idea of where this is coming from is to have a world class medical facility on the Gulf Coast,” said Wiggins.
One in five Mississippians suffer from diabetes, the highest in the U.S. and obesity is a continued struggle for the state.
