Hofstra and North Shore-LIJ officials thanked members of the Long Island Senate delegation for securing $25 million in grants for the medical school, and on hand at the ground-breaking ceremony were Majority Leader Dean Skelos, a Republican from Rockville Centre, Sen. Kemp Hannon, a Republican from Garden City, who represents the 6th District where Hofstra is located, and Sen. Jack Martins, a Republican from Mineola.

Officials also recognized the Town of Hempstead leaders who helped secure local approvals for the project, including Supervisor Kate Murray, a Republican from Levittown.

Hofstra’s medical school was built in response to a 2006 Association of American Medical Colleges’ report that encouraged universities to start or expand medical schools to meet the expected demand for new doctors as the population ages. Now, officials said, the need for new medical schools has never been greater. Starting in 2014, the federal Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare,” will provide health care to millions of Americans who were previously denied access to the medical system because they lacked insurance, including a million new patients in New York.

More than 5,000 students annually apply to the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ Medical School. This fall, the school will welcome its third class, comprising 80 students. With so many applicants for relatively few spaces, the school is highly selective. Students’ academic credentials are on par with their peers at the New York University School of Medicine and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University, said officials of the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ school.

Medical school

addition by

the numbers

HLW International, a Manhattan architectural firm, designed the addition to the Hofstra University North Shore-LIJ Medical School. Here’s what the new two-story structure, which is expected to be completed in 2015, will feature:

n A 241-person auditorium.

n A 7,000-square-foot laboratory.

n A large multi-purpose room that will seat 90.

n A large events space.

n A faculty suite.

n Twelve small-group classrooms.