(Photo: Cape Fear Valley Health)

Business North Carolina is reporting that the new Fayetteville medical school planned by Methodist University and Cape Fear Valley Health will also be an economic boon for the area.  The university’s provost says the once the school is up and running it will bring more than 800 permanent jobs to the area.

The school plans to train 80 physicians annually to begin with.  The long-term goal is to grow that number to 120 and improve the region’s healthcare.  Chaka Jordan, Cape Fear’s VP of Marketing and Communications, says “areas with medical schools are healthier overall.  We will have faculty who are continually learning and keeping up with the latest, greatest techniques to teach medical students.”

Methodist University opened in 1960 with the help of Fayetteville lawyer and former NC Governor Terry Sanford.  This new school joins Wake Forest, which is opening Charlotte’s first four-year medical school next year.

Fayetteville officials expect the new school to bring in $750 million in economic activity over its first decade.

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