Pikeville College is expanding its medical school to combat the doctor shortage in the region.
College officials, Governor Steve Beshear, and Congressman Hal Rogers broke ground on the new building Friday morning.
The building will be more than 60,000 square feet and have the state of the art medical training equipment.
The expansion also means the college will accept more students, boosting med school classes to 125 students per year.
“It will really help the healthcare giving us more physicians from our area, and it will help the economy by keeping our health dollars here in Appalachia,” Pikeville College President Paul Patton said.
The governor presented a $500,000 ARC grant to help pay for the project.
Patton says the new building will be called the "Coal Building" to honor coal's impact on the region.
