Lebanon Valley College is prepared to welcome 30 to 40 nursing students this fall, the first class of its new nursing program, as it gets construction of their new school building underway.
Read More: Lebanon Valley College announces nursing degree
“The first couple of weeks includes preparing the site with fencing, installing silt barriers, and delivering construction trailers,” Shawn P. Curtin, LVC vice president of finance and administration, explained. Construction crews began moving dirt at the site this past week.
Construction is expected to be completed by July 2023. If construction goes according to plan, these students could be spending their sophomore through senior years (and almost all of their nursing coursework) in a brand-new, 35,000-square-foot School of Nursing building.
A ceremonial groundbreaking is planned for Friday, May 6, at 4:30 p.m. Congressman Dan Meuser, state Senator Chris Gebhard, and state Representative Russ Diamond are expected to attend.
The School of Nursing building was designed by Noelker and Hull Associates. It will feature classrooms, simulation and skills lab space, and a two-story atrium. (Provided renderings)
“The first year and a half of the nursing curriculum is courses outside of the nursing program that fulfill general education requirements and prepare the nursing students for the nursing specific courses,” said Curtin. “Students begin the nursing specific curriculum, including clinical work, in their fourth semester (spring 2024 for the students enrolling in the nursing program this fall).”
LVC will offer clinical experiences to students at several local facilities, including Cornwall Manor, Lebanon Valley Brethren Home, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital.
The three-story School of Nursing building will connect with the existing 55,000-square-foot Arnold Health Professions Pavilion, which serves as the home to the school’s Doctor of Physical Therapy, Master of Athletic Training and Bachelor of Exercise Science programs.
Read More: Take a look at LVC’s Arnold Health Professions Pavilion one year after opening
Jeanne Arnold, trustee emeritus and honorary member of the class of 2008, and Ed Arnold, trustee emeritus and honorary member of the class of 1987, led fundraising for the Arnold Health Professionals Pavilion with a $10 million gift in 2016. In a press release at the time by the college, Ed Arnold explained, “Because of the country’s aging population, which is particularly relevant in the Lebanon Valley, there is a great need for the highly talented health professions graduates LVC will develop.”
Curtin said that the response from alumni about the new nursing program and building has been very positive. “We have numerous alumni who work in nursing fields, and the alumni recognize that adding the BSN program builds upon the strength LVC has in educating students in the health professions and sciences.”
The college is actively fundraising with the goal of receiving a naming gift for the building and/or school.
Curtin said that the college has been successful with being awarded federal and state support, receiving $2.7 million in Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development RACP funding and $1 million in Community Project Funding from the federal government.
Pyramid Construction is serving as construction manager for the project.
In November 2021, as part of the building grounds being taken off of the tax rolls, Annville Township and Lebanon Valley College confirmed a five-year agreement for the college to make voluntary contributions to offset lost revenue from its tax exempt-properties. The township is expecting to get its first payment as part of that agreement this fall.
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