The Patient-Centered Care Learning Center will help address the shortage of doctors in Missouri and the U.S.

The new $42.5 million Patient-Centered Care Learning Center (PCCLC) recently opened at the University of Missouri School of Medicine in Columbia, Mo. The six-story, 98,888-sf BNIM-designed building was built with the intention of addressing a critical shortage of physicians both locally in Missouri and nationally across the United States.

The facility includes an anatomy lab, an active learning classroom, clinical simulation rooms, problem-based learning classrooms, student seminar rooms, offices, and student lounge areas.

The building’s design supports the pedagogy with a large number of student amenities and spaces with an enhanced focus on student collaboration. The top two floors have been set aside for the sole purpose of student learning. Floors five and six offer 32 problem-based learning classrooms, each one with images of Missourians overlaid on the glass entrances.

The history of Missouri has been incorporated into the building through the use of native materials. The six elevator lobbies feature reclaimed wood carved with unique river topographies. Recycled stone that originated from like Carthage, Mo., and the Kansas City Power and Light Building, was also incorporated.

The PCCLC is a partnership between the MU School of Medicine, CoxHealth, and Mercy Springfield and allowed the School of Medicine to expand its class size from 96 to 128 students.