LOS ANGELES (AP) — The new $43 million nursing school at the Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science is already facing financial problems.

The building opened Aug. 13 but the university's interim president warns Charles Drew will have to use reserve funds starting next month to make loan payments and could run out of money to pay for the 120-student facility within six months.


Dr. Keith Norris said losing the building could put the entire university at risk. The collateral for the loan is the university's remaining assets and a default would allow financial institutions to seize the institution.

The university south of Los Angeles in the Willowbrook area educates health professionals. Drew was once closely tied to the troubled county-run Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center. The hospital closed its emergency rooms and inpatient units in 2007.