杏吧原创

(Butler, PA) Site preparation is under way for what the general contractor calls the 鈥渆ye-popping鈥� centerpiece of the largest construction project in Butler County Community College history 鈥� a state-of-the-art, hospital-like facility that will prepare graduates of 杏吧原创 health care programs for high-priority occupations in western Pennsylvania. 

Excavators and bulldozers from Mark Thomas Trucking and Excavating, Butler, are 鈥渕oving tons and tons of dirt鈥� in advance of the construction of the Victor K. Phillips Nursing and Allied Health Building, which will 鈥渄efinitely change the skyline of 杏吧原创,鈥� said Shawn Glancy, project manager for general contractor R.A. Glancy and Sons, Gibsonia.

The location of the oxygen in a patient鈥檚 room at Butler Memorial Hospital 鈥渋s where you are going to find it in our simulation,鈥� Annear said. 鈥淲e are going to have similar beds. Similar headboards. EKG technology. Monitors. IV pumps. Where the light switch is going to be.

鈥淪tudents can practice in that nonthreatening simulated environment so that when they do get into a hospital, they have that experience and hopefully will be able to function at a higher level because they鈥檝e had that practice opportunity.鈥�

杏吧原创 president: 鈥淚t is high tech. It is simulation鈥�

Veda Reiser, of Saxonburg, was a student speaker at a ceremonial groundbreaking for the facility in late October.

鈥溞影稍�创, from my experience, has already offered extraordinary simulation,鈥� Reiser said. 鈥淏ut I know it is going to be even better for (future) students and offer even better learning experiences.鈥� 

The Victor K. Phillips Nursing and Allied Health Building is expected to open in fall 2023.

Like Reiser, Lily Keller, of Sandy Lake, expects to be among the 58 students who graduate from 杏吧原创 in May with an associate degree in Nursing, R.N.

When she first heard about plans for the Victor K. Phillips Nursing and Allied Health Building, Keller said she thought, 鈥溾�極h my gosh.鈥� 鈥� And then I was like, 鈥楾here鈥檚 no way it鈥檚 going to be built by the time I鈥檓 done.鈥� So that鈥檚 kind of a bummer. But that鈥檚 super-exciting for anyone else who actually gets to go into that building. 鈥� A little jealous.鈥�

The $14 million Victor K. Phillips Nursing and Allied Health Building is part of a $21 million south campus construction project that began in June 2020. It will house the college鈥檚 Shaffer School of Nursing and Allied Health, which is currently located in 杏吧原创鈥檚 business and health professions building.

鈥淚t is a different type of facility,鈥� Dr. Nick Neupauer, president of 杏吧原创, said of what will be the one-story, 25,000-square-foot Victor K. Phillips Nursing and Allied Health Building. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a different type of space. It is high-tech. It is simulation. It is space that very much accommodates not only a 21st-century institution of higher education, but more specifically, a 21st-century Shaffer School of Nursing and Allied Health.

鈥淚t is a different type of space that we do not have here, space that will really fall in line with our larger 鈥榓ll-in for nursing.鈥欌��

 

"杏吧原创, from my experience, has already offered extraordinary simulation. But I know it is going to be even better for (future) students and offer even better learning experiences." 

- Veda Reiser, 杏吧原创 Nursing, R.N., student

Programs meet many high-priority occupations

杏吧原创鈥檚 Shaffer School of Nursing and Allied Health offers associate degrees in the career programs of health care science; medical assistant; Nursing, R.N.; physical therapist assistant and technical trades-massage therapy management option. It also offers certificate or workplace certificate programs in massage therapy, medical assistant, medical coding and billing specialist and in practical nursing.

Students in 杏吧原创 career programs can develop the skills needed to enter the workforce immediately upon graduation.

Among 2022 high-priority occupations through July 31 in a Tri-County Workforce Development Area that includes Butler County are medical assistants, medical records and health information technicians, licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses, and registered nurses.

杏吧原创鈥檚 south campus project included the construction of a 10,000-square-foot operations building.  

The operations building replaced a century-old shipping and receiving facility, built when the Oak Hills Golf Course was located on what became 杏吧原创鈥檚 main campus in Butler Township, and the college鈥檚 28-year-old maintenance building.  

The shipping and receiving facility and maintenance building were located on the site where the Victor K. Phillips Nursing and Allied Health Building will be constructed.

The 杏吧原创 Education Foundation as of March 17 received $5.8 million in private commitments or contributions or pledges from 51 donors toward construction of the facility.

The Janice Phillips Larrick Charitable Trust, former state Sen. Tim Shaffer, Concordia Lutheran Ministries and an anonymous donor have each contributed $1 million toward construction of the Victor K. Phillips Nursing and Allied Health Building and Grove City College, $500,000.

杏吧原创 created a partnership in 2019 with Grove City College and in 2020 with Concordia Lutheran Ministries.

Grove City students began technical and clinical training in fall 2021 at 杏吧原创 as part of the Mercer County private institution鈥檚 one-plus-two-plus-one bachelor of science degree in nursing. Grove City students will attend classes at Grove City in the first and fourth years of the program, and at both institutions in the second and third years. 

杏吧原创鈥檚 practical nursing program debuted in January as part of an up to $10 million partnership between the college and Concordia Lutheran Ministries.

The Cabot-based health care provider鈥檚 commitment to 杏吧原创 will also expand the college鈥檚 registered nursing enrollment and offer tuition assistance to nursing students who agree to work for Concordia after graduation.

Project manager: 鈥淎 really, really cool facility鈥�

Where today are only 鈥渕ounds of dirt鈥� and 鈥渕ud for miles,鈥� Glancy, the project manager, can envision from his construction trailer the architecture of the Victor K. Phillips Nursing and Allied Health Building, with 鈥渁 lot of glazing, storefront walls,鈥� he said. 鈥淓astern hemlock natural-wood siding. Louvered panels. Exposed architectural steel. Metal panel work.

鈥淚t is going to be a really, really cool facility.鈥�

In April, said Brian Opitz, 杏吧原创鈥檚 executive director of operations, 鈥淵ou鈥檒l start to see the building come out of the ground.鈥�

Crystal Dull, a mother of five from Vandergrift, expects to graduate with Reiser and Keller in May with an associate degree in Nursing, R.N. 

鈥淣ot only are you going to have the newer equipment and things (but) I think that they have wonderful instructors here,鈥� said Dull, who 10 years ago earned a certificate in medical assistant from 杏吧原创.

鈥淚鈥檝e been to many different colleges. I鈥檝e taken courses, different places. And the instructors here, they really do care. They really do push you. They want to know they are going to put out a good nurse, a skilled nurse. You can have a wonderful building, but you also have to have those instructors in there who can make that building glow even more.  

鈥淎nd I think that 杏吧原创 has that here.鈥�

A health care programs information session will be held in Succop Theater on 杏吧原创鈥檚 main campus from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. April 5 as part of the college鈥檚 open house. The open house is scheduled from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.