Celebrating a Purpose-Built Center for Health & Education

By Hennebery Eddy

Hennebery Eddy Architects, under a progressive design-build contract with Sellen Construction, worked with South Puget Sound Community College and the Washington State Department of Enterprise Services to transform three floors of an existing office building into a purpose-built facility for the college’s growing health education programs. Over the course of 18 months, our team designed and constructed a mix of didactic learning and simulation learning spaces to help the next generation of healthcare professionals as they prepare to enter the workforce. Our design emphasizes a connection to nature, daylighting, healthy and sustainable materials, and flexibility to accommodate further program evolution. The team’s efforts were recently recognized with a Distinguished Project Award from the Northwest Construction Consumer Council. Read more about the program and its benefactor in the college’s ribbon-cutting announcement below.


SPSCC Opens the Dr. Angela J. Bowen Center for Health Education

Originally Published: Oct. 14, 2022

On Oct. 11, 2022, South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) celebrated the grand opening of the Dr. Angela J. Bowen Center for Health Education with a ribbon-cutting event. The Bowen Center was acquired in January 2019 and is now the home of the SPSCC Foundation and Nursing and Medical Assisting programs.

The building is named in honor of Dr. Angela Bowen, an Olympia physician, medical research pioneer, and philanthropist who passed away in 2017. The building was originally constructed and used by Dr. Bowen and her estate gave the SPSCC Foundation a $1.19 million in-kind contribution to support the purchase of the building, the largest gift of its kind in college history.

Nearly 100 community members attended the ribbon cutting on Oct. 11, 2022.

Following the ceremony, attendees toured the newly renovated spaces where Nursing and Medical Assisting students hosted a few demonstrations of the equipment.

“In addition to the refinement of our simulation and lab spaces, the Bowen Center provides a space dedicated to the future of healthcare,” said Jillian Menchaca, a second-year nursing student at SPSCC and one of the ceremony speakers. “This is a place where we can thrive and be ourselves. Simply put, the Bowen Center is an investment in the future of nurses and an investment in my future. That is something I’ll always be thankful for.”

 

Read the full announcement on the SPSCC website. You can also learn more about Hennebery Eddy’s expertise in higher education and design-build delivery.