Officials at South Suburban College in South Holland announced Thursday a state grant of $13 million to aid in construction of a planned Allied Health and Nursing Center.
The money, from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, comes on top of about $51 million previously approved by state legislators for the project, which is expected to break ground next summer.
The building will house classrooms and labs for the school’s programs in areas such as nursing, pharmacy and occupational therapy and will “benefit generations to come,” said Terry Wells, chairman of the college’s board.
Apart from state money for the building itself, the college is continuing a fundraising campaign for furnishings and equipment that has so far raised $1.8 million, according to college President Lynette Stokes.
She said plans for the educational center began more than a decade ago, under Frank Zuccarelli, who was board chairman from 1987 until his death in January 2022.
Wells, who is also mayor of Phoenix, was a longtime trustee of the college before being named Zuccarelli’s successor as chairman.
Zuccarelli was instrumental in securing for the college funding for the center through the state’s Rebuild Illinois capital program.
Nearly a fourth of the school’s students are enrolled in programs such as nursing and related health care fields, and the building will house courses in registered nursing, nursing assistants and dental hygiene, according to the college.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Stokes said.
The four-story building will contain 69,000 square feet of educational space including high-tech labs, Stokes said.
She said once it is completed, the educational center will have a transformative impact on the region, ensuring career opportunities for South Suburban College students in health care fields.
South Holland Village Trustee Cynthia Nylen said the center will open careers for students and help build a bright future for them.
Stokes said the center is expected to open in late fall 2025 or early 2026, depending on availability of materials and weather.
Municipalities and area businesses have signed on as partners as part of the capital fundraising program, including UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey, which committed $100,000.
“It’s important for us,” DonElla Bradford, director of community affairs at Ingalls. “We’re a community hospital.”
Bradford said nursing students at the college will sometimes do their clinical rotations at Ingalls, becoming immersed in different areas of care.
“We are committed as a hospital to hiring talent from South Suburban,” Bradford said.
Ingalls and other hospitals took a huge hit during and after the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of nurses retiring or leaving to pursue other careers, Bradford said.
That, and a smaller number of people pursuing nursing careers, has left hospitals scrambling to fill positions.
“We need a trained workforce,” she said.
mnolan@tribpub.com
