The Select Medical Health Education Pavilion will house the college's health careers programs including the nursing program, respiratory therapy and dental assisting and technician programs. The pavilion will also be home to the college's nursing assistants training and EMT/Paramedic programs.
"As a national and local health care leader, Select Medical is well aware of the need to attract, educate and inspire the health care professionals of tomorrow," said Robert A. Ortenzio, president and chief executive officer of Select Medical Corporation. "We chose to partner with Harrisburg Area Community College to accomplish two objectives: to actively support the higher education process and to take a responsible role in addressing the growing shortage of health care professionals."
HACC President Edna V. Baehre said that the college welcomes the support of Select Medical and that the new facility is desperately needed.
"We're already the second largest source of registered nurses and we are the primary source of professionals in many other professions," she said. "Yet, the demand keeps growing -- more than 36% percent for nurses last year alone."
The new building will help bring state-of-the-art facilities as well as the additional classroom space and labs needed for the expanding programs. The building will also be submitted for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED program is the leading-edge system for designing, constructing and certifying the world's greenest and best buildings.
The Select Medical Health Education Pavilion, which is being designed by L. Robert Kimball and Associates Architects of Harrisburg, will include microbiology and chemistry labs, a specialized training center for nursing and respiratory therapy as well as the college's dental hygiene clinic.
Total cost for the building will be approximately $10 million with part of the money expected to come from state matching funds. A capital campaign is now underway to raise the remainder of the money.
Work on the building will begin in the spring with completion expected in time for the Fall 2005 semester.
Based in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, Select Medical Corporation is a national and local leader in the specialty health care industry. Within its inpatient division, Select Medical provides long-term acute care at its 77 Select Specialty Hospitals in 24 states, including locationsin Camp Hill and York. The company also provides inpatient rehabilitation at The Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, which became part of Select Medical's inpatient division in September 2003. The Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, which is comprised of four hospitals in northern New Jersey, is consistently recognized as one of the country's best rehabilitation hospitals. Select Medical's Outpatient Division is comprised of approximately 829 outpatient physical rehabilitation centers throughout the United States and Canada. Locally, Select Medical owns and operates the Joyner Sportsmedicine and NovaCare Rehabilitation network of outpatient centers. Select Medical Corporation was founded in 1996 by Rocco Ortenzio and Robert Ortenzio.
Harrisburg Area Community College has more than 15 thousand degree-seeking students at its four campuses in Harrisburg, Lancaster, Gettysburg and Lebanon. In addition, the college educates more than 50 thousand students in its non-credit and workforce development courses annually.