D'Youville College in Buffalo, N.Y., plans to build a $20 million facility to train health care professionals and provide clinical care in the community.
The Buffalo News reports that the new health professions hub would put all of the health professions under one roof working in cooperation on behalf of patients,
College officials envision a three-story 46,000-square-foot building on what now is a college parking lot. The plan calls for a community clinic on the first floor, classrooms and conference space on the second floor, a third-floor "virtual training center," and a two-story, 200-seat amphitheater.
The college will seek $10 million in state aid to get the project off the ground and try to raise another $10 million in private funds by 2020 from individuals and foundations.
D'Youville has programs in occupational therapy, physician assistant, dietetics, nursing, family nurse practitioner, chiropractic, physical therapy and pharmacy.
The hub would dovetail with the college's efforts to grow its enrollment by 25 percent. It now has about 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students. D'Youville projects more than half the growth coming from students doing online coursework; it anticipates its on-campus student population to increase by about 250 students.
