"The Leader Nursing Education Center will be a key focal point of the new health education complex," said Dr. Edna Baehre, president of HACC. "Interest in nursing has exploded in recent years filling our laboratories and classrooms to capacity. The new Leader Nursing Education Center will give us the state-of-the art facilities we need to continue to grow the program."
The Leader Nursing Education Center will be the new home for HACC's registered and practical nursing programs on its Wildwood Campus in Harrisburg. The center is designed for practice-based, hands-on education and will feature 20 nursing units with hospital beds and all the associated equipment.
"The center will allow students to perform a number of procedures in a simulated environment to hone their skills before they deal with real patients," Baehre said.
Governor George Leader was on hand today to present his gift and see some of the college's nursing students demonstrate their skills. He noted that the new nurses are sorely needed in Pennsylvania which has one of the fastest growing elderly populations in the nation.
"I am well aware of the skills needed to take a patient's blood pressure or operate complex diagnostic equipment," said Leader, chairman and CEO of the George M. Leader Family Corporation. "But it is caring, kindness and a genuine concern for others that makes a true healer.
"HACC doesn't forget to educate the heart," he said. "HACC's goal is to graduate skilled professionals who bring a caring heart to their healing work and this is the kind of healer I want to care for the residents at Country Meadows and Providence Place Retirement Communities. They are also the kind of healers I want to care for myself and for my loved ones."
With this new gift in hand, HACC is preparing to break ground on the new building in order to have it ready in time for the Fall 2005 semester. But, according to campaign co-chair and HACC Trustee Don Schell, there's still much to be done.
"The crisis shortage of healthcare workers isn't going away," he said. "That's why we're starting construction on the Select Medical Health Education Pavilion while we're only part way through the fundraising effort."
Schell noted that there are still a number of key naming possibilities available as well as opportunities for smaller donations.
"But, the most important effect of this campaign will be to ensure that our community has the skilled, caring professionals it needs for a healthy future," he said, "and Governor Leader's gift today takes us a long way toward that goal."