Bronson Healthcare contributing $1.2 million to WMU
Dec. 10, 2002
KALAMAZOO -- Bronson Healthcare Group of Kalamazoo has pledged $1.2 million toward construction of the new building for the College of Health and Human Services at Western Michigan University.
The new health and human services building will be constructed on the Oakland Drive Campus, which includes 106.7 acres of former state hospital grounds that were transferred to WMU in 1998 by act of the state Legislature. The three-story building will be approximately 195,000 square feet in size and cost a projected $48.2 million. The state is providing $36 million for the project. The balance of the total needed is being sought in private gifts as part of WMU's $125-million centennial campaign, Partnering for Success.
"Bronson is pleased to partner with WMU in developing the Oakland Drive corridor as a health care campus," said Frank J. Sardone, Bronson's president and chief executive officer. "As we look toward the changing health care needs of our community and our society as a whole, one thing is certain: we will have a continuing and growing need for education and research in the crucial area of health sciences. We're confident that Western's new health and human services facility will make a vital contribution toward meeting the need for well-educated health care workers for our region."
The Bronson School of Nursing at WMU was named in recognition of Bronson's long heritage in nursing education.
The new building will bring together the college's seven major academic units that are currently scattered in seven locations across the campus. The resulting corridor will include WMU's Unified Clinics, which are located in the University Medical and Health Sciences Center on Oakland Drive.
"Once again, Bronson has come forward during a crucial moment in the college's history, and helped us to reach our goals and dreams," said Dr. Janet I. Pisaneschi, dean of the College of Health and Human Services, in referring to Bronson's most-recent contribution.
Bronson Healthcare Group is a community-owned health care system headquartered in Kalamazoo and employing about 3,000 people. The Bronson Healthcare Group includes: Bronson Methodist Hospital; Bronson Vicksburg Hospital; Bronson Medical Group; Bronson Staffing Service; IBA Health Plans; and the Bronson Health Foundation.
WMU media contact: Thom Myers, 269 387-8400, thomas.myers@wmich.edu
Bronson Media Contact: Kaye Bennett, 269 341-8747