MONT ALTO, Pa. - On April 13, Penn State President Eric J. Barron, along with state and local elected officials and community leaders will join the Penn State Mont Alto community in celebrating the ribbon cutting of the campus' newest facility, the $13 million Allied Health Building.
The celebration begins at 11 a.m. and will also include remarks by Penn State Mont Alto Chancellor Francis K. Achampong; Laurie Badzek, dean of Penn State's Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing; Roxanna Gapstur, president and CEO of WellSpan Health; and Mike Ross, president of the Franklin County Area Development Corporation.
Positioned on the outer edge of the campus' quad, the 22,000-square-foot facility serves as a state-of-the-art learning hub for the campus' Allied Health programs: Nursing, Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) and Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA). The facility includes simulation laboratories and an ambulance port for the Nursing program, enhanced clinical space and equipment for the PTA program, and a simulated living space for the OTA program.
"This is our first new building in over 20 years, and we are really excited about it," Achampong said. "This facility enhances our ability to educate the best minds in an innovative, technology-rich, collaborative environment." Referencing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Achampong underscored the value of and need for highly educated and prepared health care professionals in the region and throughout the commonwealth.
The public is invited to attend the celebration. In addition to the remarks and ribbon cutting, tours of the facility will be provided, and light refreshments will be served in an outdoor event tent. Event attendees can park in the Green Lot. located immediately on the right from the campus' main entrance off Route 233. All attendees will be asked to follow all Penn State COVID-19 safety and mitigation efforts.
The Penn State Board of Trustees approved the project in November 2018. Hord Coplan Macht, Inc. from Baltimore, Maryland, served as the building's architect and Kinsley Construction, Inc. of York, Pennsylvania, as the construction manager.
