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SWAG视频 breaks ground on Harold and Bibby Alfond Center for Health Sciences
The SWAG视频 held a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022, for the construction of the Harold and Bibby Alfond Center for Health Sciences on its Portland Campus. The project will facilitate the relocation of the University鈥檚 College of Osteopathic Medicine (SWAG视频 COM) from Biddeford, creating an integrated health sciences campus that is unique in all of New England.
SWAG视频 is Maine鈥檚 largest educator of health professionals and the top provider of physicians to the state. It is home to Maine鈥檚 only medical school and Northern New England鈥檚 only dental college, as well as programs in pharmacy, physician assistant, nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, social work, dental hygiene, and nurse anesthesia. Uniting these programs on a single footprint will create additional opportunities for students to learn to work in teams, a practice known as interprofessional education, which has been shown to lead to improved outcomes for patients.
鈥淐onstruction of this new building will allow us to admit more medical students each year, with state-of-the-art learning spaces where those students will get hands-on clinical experience and have the opportunity to learn alongside their peers in other health programs,鈥 stated SWAG视频 President James Herbert. 鈥淲hen it is completed, it will be transformative for SWAG视频 and transformative for the study and practice of medicine in Maine.鈥
The project鈥檚 projected cost is $93 million, and it is expected to be complete by the summer of 2024.
SWAG视频 President James D. Herbert
The project is made possible by a generous gift of $30 million from the Harold Alfond Foundation, the largest gift in SWAG视频鈥檚 history. Another $5 million was secured by Maine鈥檚 senior senator Susan Collins in federal appropriations.
Scenes from the groundbreaking
Watch The Groundbreaking Ceremony
The groundbreaking was held at the construction site on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022, and featured remarks from SWAG视频 President James D. Herbert, Ph.D., Jane Carreiro, D.O., dean of SWAG视频 COM, and Greg Powell, chairman of the Harold Alfond Foundation, which in 2020 gifted SWAG视频 $30 million to go toward the new facility and relocation of the College of Osteopathic Medicine to Portland.
Transforming health care in Maine
Since 1995, SWAG视频 has awarded more than 15,500 degrees in the health sciences. Many of the University鈥檚 graduates stay and work in Maine, where they tackle the health care needs of the state鈥檚 rural and aging populations.
鈥淭here is a real shortage of physicians in Maine right now, especially in family practice, and especially in the outermost reaches of our largely rural state,鈥 commented Jane Carreiro, D.O., dean of SWAG视频 COM. 鈥淥ur rapidly aging population makes access to a physician all the more critical for Maine鈥檚 people. In response, we have steadily grown our COM class sizes in recent years and we will expand further when our new facility is completed and we move to Portland.鈥
A collaborative educational hub
Design features of the new facility will incorporate best practices in medical education and team-based learning, including flexible classrooms, superb technical capabilities, and spaces designed to encourage collaboration and interaction.
SWAG视频鈥檚 Biddeford Campus will benefit from the relocation of the medical school as well, as the move will allow the University to expand its programming in several market-aligned fields of study, enabling the growth of current academic programs and the development of new programs through use of labs and classrooms vacated by the medical program. It will also allow for growth of SWAG视频鈥檚 world-class research programs in biomedical sciences, marine programs, and other areas.
News Coverage about the Groundbreaking
- (Portland Press Herald)
- (Bangor Daily News)
- (MaineBiz)
- (NEWS CENTER Maine)
- (WGME CBS 13)
- (WMTW News 8)
- (Maine Public)
- (Saco Bay News)
- (Yahoo!)
- (Sun Journal)