Groundbreaking Held for SCF Medical Technology & Simulation Center
Second Building Expands SCF Presence at Lakewood Ranch
(Lakewood Ranch, Fla. Feb. 3, 2009) –College of Florida (SCF) officials
and friends donned hard hats and shoveled dirt at the groundbreaking ceremony
of the Medical Technology and Simulation (MTS) Center at SCF Lakewood
Ranch.
SCF President Dr. Lars A. Hafner and SCF Board Chair Steve Harner were
joined by college trustees, SCF Foundation board members, Schroeder-Manatee
Ranch president Rex Jensen, elected officials, and business and hospital
executives to celebrate the start of construction of the two-story, 40,000
sq. ft. building where nursing and other healthcare students will train
in a state-of-the-art simulated hospital setting.
The center will feature sophisticated adult and infant simulation technology
in intensive care units, a birthing room, nursing assessment lab and science
laboratories and classrooms.
Continuing education credits and other certifications and specializations
needed to meet the continuing education needs of physicians, nurses and
emergency care personnel also will be available at the MTS Center.
“We like to grow our own and put our own to work in the community,” Hafner
said.
Area hospital executives and chief nursing officers are among the new
building’s biggest supporters, as demonstrated by the announcement at
the groundbreaking ceremony that Manatee Memorial Hospital (MMH) Foundation
contributed $500,000 to the center.
Clint Monts de Oca, SCF Foundation immediate past president, recognized
Carolyn Keller, MMH Foundation president, and Vernon DeSear, executive
director of the MMH Foundation, vice president of MMH and board member
of the SCF Foundation. Monts de Oca said a request would be made to
the SCF Foundation board to name the nursing wing of the new MTS Center
in honor of the MMH Foundation.
Early childhood education and Educator Preparation Institute classrooms
also are included in the building.
The new building will be SCF’s first “green” building with LEED certification
when it opens in 2010. With support from the local legislative delegation,
the state provided $8.9 million for planning and construction. The SCF Foundation provided almost $2 million in a combination of fundraising and
matched funds by the state. The property was donated by Schroeder-Manatee
Ranch.
Project architect is Fawley Bryant Architects Inc. and the builder is
Tandem Construction.
Located beside the existing Center for Innovation and Technology, the
MTS Center will be the second building at the college’s Lakewood Ranch
location. Long-range plans for the 10-acre campus call for a third classroom
and laboratory building, a multi-story parking garage and a courtyard.
Campus press release available here
