Owens Community College broke ground Nov. 16 on a $31.3 million healthcare education center that will support the region’s labor demands by providing highly-skilled healthcare professionals from the School of Nursing and Health Professions.
The renovation and expansion of two buildings on the east side of the Toledo-area campus will allow for enrollment growth, provide double the lab space and ensure students are working on state-of-the-art equipment.
In all, nearly 200 community members, faculty, staff and students attended the ceremonial groundbreaking, featuring a presentation at the Center for Fine and Performing Arts theatre and then photos with hard hats and shovels in neatly piled black dirt at the nearby construction site.
Among those in attendance were State Rep. Haraz Ghanbari, Tim Schneider, a representative from the office of U.S. Senator JD Vance, and David Wirt, district director of the Office of Congressman Robert Latta.
“We have been educating tomorrow’s nurses and healthcare professionals for more than 50 years,” Owens President Dione D. Somerville said, “and with this renovation and expansion, Owens will remain at the forefront for students’ healthcare education before our graduates begin caring for patients in hospitals and other medical facilities.”
With an expected completion date of 2025, the center will feature 65,250 in renovated space and 21,300 in new additions to the footprint, providing students with more than 86,500 of square footage as they pursue in-demand careers in healthcare.
The School of Nursing and Health Professions enrolled 1,845 students for Fall 2023, including 1,733 on the Toledo-area campus, in dental hygiene, health information, magnetic resonance imaging (mri), medical assisting, nursing, occupational therapy assistant, physical therapist assistant, radiography, sonography and surgical. Exercise science, which also is part of the school, moved its offices and labs to the Student Health and Activities Center this year.
Student leaders representing the 11 departments participated in the groundbreaking ceremony.
“It’s exciting that we will have a primary location to accommodate our interprofessional education approach, which ensures healthcare graduates are well-trained to practice collaboratively and provide patient-centered care to members of the community,” said Cathy Ford, dean of the School of Nursing and Health Professions. “Our new and expanded center will feature dedicated spaces to create these collaborations.”
Moody’s Investors Service assigned Owens Community College an A2 underlying and Aa2 enhanced rating for a $25 million bond. The bond is the first in the college’s history, signaling the college’s financial stability. The capital project including renovations, improvements and equipment purchases is estimated at $31.3 million, using bond proceeds, state and local funds.
Owens Community College has served Northwest Ohio since 1965 as an accredited two-year, state-assisted institution of higher education with an open-door admission policy.
