Juniata College is moving forward with plans for a $15 million nursing school building and medical office. College leaders hope the facility will increase enrollment and address regional health care shortages.
Juniata College currently has a pre-nursing track. This facility will enable the college to create a full-fledged nursing program.
Jim Watt, the vice president for Advancement and New Strategic Initiatives, said the top floor will be a student nursing lab. Those students could work with primary care professionals in medical office space on the first two floors.
“We know that rural health care is an issue in our area," Watt said. "When we did a survey of the data in Huntington, we realized that part of that barrier is move-in ready office space.”
Penn Highlands has a hospital in Huntingdon, and there are UPMC and Geisinger offices. But Watt said those providers are maxed out.
“The other side of it is, even things like when you think of primary care, you know, your family doc, pediatrician, we don't have enough dentists," Watt said. "We don't have enough eye care professionals. We don't have enough pharmacists either.”
Watt said the college is still seeking accreditation for a nursing program, but construction for the facility should start in the spring next year. He's hopeful the state will approve accreditation in the next few months.
Watt said the college is seeking several funding revenues, including private donations, state grants, and the college's operational funds.
"But the great part of this project is that what those health care providers that we're going to track, there's going to be some long-term viability, some profit sharing with that, where they would give us dollars to maintain the facility and improve the facility," Watt said. "So the idea would be that this wouldn't cost operationally, but there would be a value out of the college."
The facility will be at the edge of the campus and the borough. Huntingdon County commissioners gave approval for the project, but Watt said they’re still seeking permission from the borough.
