TIFTON — Calling the new Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Health Services building “a great example of local collaboration and teamwork,” William Richardson, president and CEO of Tift Regional Medical Center, praised the partnership between the ABAC Foundation and TRMC. Richardson’s remarks were made at the official dedication ceremony for the Health Services building Wednesday morning.
The 41,424-square-foot, $7.2 million building will serve nursing students with classrooms and clinical labs and will serve as the student health center for the entire campus.
The two-story brick building, which occupies the space previously occupied by the Moore Building and Creswell Hall, was funded through a combination of state and private funds, including a $1 million gift from TRMC.
Speaking of the shortage of nurses in this country, particularly in rural areas like south central Georgia, and the initial shortfall of moneys to fund the building as the ABAC Foundation had envisioned it, Richardson said he knew “we had to get there somehow” and recognized that ABAC and TRMC were on the path to a common goal.
Mr. and Mrs. Dan Pennington of Pennington Seed, Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Allen of Pike Creek Turf Inc., and Dr. Phillip Roberts, medical director of Phoebe Putney Cancer Center, also made contributions to build the nursing facility. The Hill-Rom company donated hospital beds.
Dr. David Bridges, ABAC president, referred to the familiar saying “build it and they will come,” saying that it did not apply in ABAC’s case because nursing students “came before we had a building to come to.”
The nursing program is about 40 years old. Bridges said that it started out as a “fledgling department which has now grown to one of the largest departments on campus, rivaling agriculture.”
Bridges pointed out that on the list of contributors “you will see that two agriculturists stepped to the plate” and said that agriculture and nursing can go forward together to address the future.
Before leaving the podium, Bridges turned to Wanda Golden, chair of the Division of Nursing and said, “Wanda, your ship has come in!”
Golden called the occasion “not just a great day, but a grand day, a magical day.” She said the building was so wonderful “it still doesn’t feel real.” She said she was afraid she would wake up and find it turned into a pumpkin.
On a more serious note, Golden said, “The advantage of the new building is that it puts everything in a centralized location instead of being scattered around campus.”
She said there is a computer lab where nursing students can do virtual programs, as well as a skills lab. Offices for the nursing faculty are also in the building. There are eight classrooms, including two that seat 100 students each. There are four general labs and three small specialty labs.
Also speaking at the dedication ceremony was Ruth W. Raines, chair of the ABAC Foundation, University System of Georgia Regent Julie Ewing Hunt and Vickie Holloway, a final semester nursing student,
State Rep. Austin Scott, R-Tifton, state Rep. Jay Roberts, R-Ocilla, and state Sen. Joseph Carter, R-Tifton, were also present at the ceremony.
After the ribbon cutting ceremony, guests were invited to tour the facility and enjoy refreshments.
To contact reporter Jana Cone, call 382-4321.
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