FIU and Baptist Health break ground on new academic medical center

Florida International University (FIU) today marked a historic milestone with the official groundbreaking of a new, state-of-the-art on-campus academic medical center.

Funded through a $158 million State of Florida appropriation, the seven-story, 163,000-square-foot facility is the first significant investment in health care delivery located directly on FIU’s main campus. The center was developed and will be operated in collaboration with Baptist Health.

“This groundbreaking represents a bold step forward for FIU and for the future of health care in our community,” said FIU President Jeanette M. Nuñez. “By building a full academic medical center on our campus, we’re creating a place where learning, discovery and patient care happen side by side. It opens new opportunities for our students, fuels innovation and delivers meaningful, lasting benefits for families across South Florida.”

Located near Southwest 107th Avenue and Southwest 10th Street, the facility will bring education and patient care together in a powerful way, enabling medical students, residents and clinical faculty to learn and work together in the same environment where patients receive care every day. The center also will support interprofessional training for students across FIU’s health care disciplines, including nursing, physician assistant, occupational therapy and other allied health professions.

The facility will include dedicated learning spaces for medical students and residents, along with a range of outpatient services. These will include multi-specialty care, diagnostic imaging, same-day surgery and infusion services. It also will feature an outpatient retail pharmacy, supporting coordinated, convenient care for patients in one location.

By bringing clinical care into an academic setting, patients gain access to expert physicians, evidence-based treatments, emerging therapies and coordinated care. These academic medical environments also play a vital role in training the next generation of physicians amid a growing national shortage.

“Today’s groundbreaking reflects a shared commitment to expanding access to high-quality, academic-based care in one of the nation’s fastest-growing regions,” said Bo Boulenger, president and CEO of Baptist Health. “This new center will allow patients to receive advanced outpatient services in a setting designed to foster collaboration among physicians, educators and future health care professionals. Together with FIU, we are building a model that strengthens the future of care in South Florida.”

The academic medical center is a major expansion in the collaboration announced in 2023 between Baptist Health – South Florida’s largest not-for-profit healthcare system – and FIU, South Florida’s public research university. Under the enhanced affiliation, FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine (FIU Medicine) and Baptist Health now partner on 14 graduate medical education (GME) programs – residencies and fellowships – a key step toward training more doctors to serve the South Florida community. Over the next five years, the GME partnership plans to grow to more than 350 residents and fellows and expand programs focused on specialties facing significant physician shortages.

“Our students already receive outstanding clinical training across Baptist Health and our other clinical affiliates,” said Dr. Juan C. Cendan, FIU Medicine dean and senior vice president for health affairs at FIU. “What’s different here is location and integration. With an academic medical center on campus, education, research and patient care are woven directly into the daily life of the university. That closeness sparks more collaboration, more discovery and a richer learning environment than we’ve ever had before.

The new academic medical center is scheduled to open in 2028.