$9 million grant to improve Parks Memorial Hall, Health Sciences

The Health Sciences Building and Parks Memorial Hall will receive a $9 million face lift after the Georgia General Assembly recently approved an amended budget.

Dr. Cheryl Kish, Interim Dean, School of Health Sciences , said the renovations should begin this summer. The school has been waiting for approval for the past seven years.

“The programs won’t change, (this is simply) an improvement in the facilities,” said President Dr. Dorothy Leland.

Kish said that Parks Nursing and Health Sciences Building would be vacated during the two years of renovations. Nursing offices will be moved to Terrell Hall, though a temporary home for the clinic is yet to be determined. The administration of the Nursing School is in talks with Central State Hospital to provisionally house the clinic.

During this time, The School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, J.W. Bunting School of Business and School of Education have all agreed to let the Nursing school use their classrooms.

“We have plenty of classrooms and the schools need to share them amongst each other,” Leland said.

Kish said the Capital Improvement Project (CAP) was needed because the building has become outdated. Parks Memorial was build in the 1930s and has had only a few small renovations over the last decade. During that time, the building has also encountered mold problems, which could be a potential health hazard if left over time.

Both Kish and Leland said the building is not up to American Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. With no elevators in the building, students with disabilities cannot reach the second floor. This floor houses important facilities such as GCSU’s only indoor pool.

Outdated technology has also become a problem. Kish said there was a mismatch between the devices in the lab and current technology that future health professionals will encounter. When renovations are complete, the building will be state of the art.

Kish said the school has sent letters to 56 expected nursing students for the fall and hopes the new building will bring more Nursing instructors to GCSU.

“The improvements should help us to better meet the (nursing) shortage,” Leland said.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 14 2006. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry