Groundbreaking

​by Phil Saken

With four symbolic turns of a shovel on a near-freezing December day, The Ohio State University College of Nursing project that will transform the future of health finally got into the ground.

The college hosted a virtual groundbreaking on Dec. 2, 2020 for its new building that will serve as a state-of-the-art gateway to the university’s health science campus. It will feature new classroom and study areas, a demo kitchen, a unique maker space and a soaring atrium that will provide a welcoming environment for collaboration and transdisciplinary learning.

College of Nursing Dean Bernadette Melnyk, PhD, APRN-CNP, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN, said that the character-building events of the year 2020 may have delayed groundbreaking for several months, but they could not weaken the resolve to make it happen. “The fact that we are breaking ground during the year of the COVID-19 pandemic is evidence of our ability to do the impossible,” said Melnyk, who also serves as vice president for health promotion and university chief wellness officer at Ohio State. “This new building will emulate our LIVE WELL framework and provide us with the needed infrastructure to propel our college to even greater heights, to achieve our vision and make an even larger positive impact on transforming health and improving lives for all.”

Several leaders from the university and the state of Ohio shared their support and excitement for the new building during the groundbreaking.

Kristina M. Johnson, PhD, president of Ohio State, highlighted the college’s growth, top-ranked academic programs and leadership in research at a time when people the world over have witnessed the heroism of nurses in response to COVID-19. “If the world needs anything right now, it is more healthcare professionals of the caliber of those educated at the Ohio State College of Nursing,” Johnson said.

Hal Paz, MD, executive vice president and chancellor for health affairs at Ohio State and CEO of the Wexner Medical Center, spoke about the vital role that nurses play in our healthcare system and how the college “sits at the forefront of educating the future of nursing.”

Gary R. Heminger, chair of the Ohio State Board of Trustees, invoked his wife Jane’s lifelong dedication to healthcare as a nurse as he spoke about Ohio State’s leadership in academic health, both now and into the future. (See sidebar for news on the Heminger's naming gift pledge for the new building.)

Maureen Corcoran, MSN, MBA, Medicaid director for the state of Ohio, spotlighted the state’s $7 million investment in this project and the college’s “key role in filling the pipeline for nurses in our state and preparing them to provide the best evidence-based patient care services and research” to advance care.

The 40-minute virtual celebration closed with four leaders – Melnyk, Paz, Vice Dean Margaret Graham, PhD, APRN-CNP, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN, and Chief of Partnerships and Special Projects Laurel Van Dromme, MA – bringing the college’s groundbreaking dream to fruition with a “3, 2, 1, dig!”