Nov. 5 ballot proposal would mean $8M a year for UMKC
Listen to the story on KCUR’s website.
Jackson County voters head to the polls on Nov, 5 to vote on a 1/2 cent sales tax increase that would fund a translational medicine institute in Kansas City. The University of Missouri-Kansas City is poised to become a partner in the institute, which could transform both the state of medical care, and the economy, of our region.
The proposed Jackson County institute for translational medicine — a collaboration among UMKC, Children’s Mercy, Saint Luke’s Health System and the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute — would raise an estimated $40 million a year to attract world-class researchers, and to provide them with the equipment and support staff necessary to develop discoveries, treatments and cures. The tax would sunset in 20 years. More information is available on the UMKC website.
In a recent segment of KCUR-FM’s Up to Date, a proponent and opponent of the tax debated the proposal.
Guests:
- David Westbrook is senior vice president for strategy and innovation at Children’s Mercy Hospital.
- Jim Fitzpatrick is with Committee to Stop a Bad Cure.
KCUR-FM is a service of the University of Missouri-Kansas City.