(May 29, 2007)--Officials say the El Paso campus of the Texas Tech University medical school will expand into a complete four-year medical school by 2009 now that Texas lawmakers have approved start-up funding.

The state budget approved this week by the Texas Legislature includes $48 million for the El Paso branch of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.

The budget is now in the hands of Gov. Rick Perry, who has supported expansion of the campus.

Dr. Robert Suskind, the school's founding dean, says Texas Tech plans to hire 20 faculty members this summer and will add 80 doctors to the campus staff in the next two years.

Supporters of the medical school have argued that El Paso and the border region suffer from a lack of doctors.

They also say a medical school will help focus treatment on diseases affecting the area, such as diabetes, obesity and depression.

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