LIMA — The Rhodes State College board of trustees Tuesday night approved a name change for their downtown project, which is currently under construction and scheduled to open in June of next year.
The building will now be called the Borra Center for Health Sciences.
The facility is being named after Pier C. Borra and Renee A. Borra who started Arbor Health Care, a nursing home company and CORA Health Service, a rehabilitation business.
“It is indeed a pleasure to work with Dr. Cynthia Spiers and her highly capable team in leading Rhodes State College into the future of health care education, and we are honored to have our name associated with the new Health Sciences Center,” said Pier C. Borra of the Borra Family Foundation.
The Borras donated an unspecified amount of money to help provide scholarships for students looking to pursue a bachelor’s degree in nursing.
”On behalf of Rhodes State College, its students, faculty and staff, I thank Pier C. Borra and Renee A. Borra for their extreme generosity in advancing our vision for regional health care education,” said Dr. Cynthia E. Spiers, president of Rhodes State College. “The Borra Family Foundation has been a beacon in our scholarship program since 2005, having helped 86 students achieve their dreams of a career in health care. Their generous support for this new facility and the Borra Family Foundation Nursing Pathway Scholarship establishes a meaningful, forward-thinking partnership for many years to come.”
“He’s taking nurses to the next steps through his scholarship program, which is wonderful. You know that’s what the hospitals are calling for. That helps our program even more and helps students do the two plus two and go on to get further education,” said Jane Krites, chair of the Rhodes State Board of Trustees.
Getting to this point is something that’s taken a few years.
“Debra McCurdy started it when she was still here, a relationship with (Borra). Kevin (Reeks) has been nurturing this relationship now for a number of years and has kept in contact with him and over the years has been able to grow the scholarship,” Krites said.
The Borra Center for Health Sciences will be home to five of the College’s Health Science programs: Nursing, Physical Therapist Assistant, Occupational Therapy Assistant, Emergency Medical Services, and Respiratory Care. It will include cutting edge technology and equipment, as well as high-end simulation suites to support an advanced paradigm of teaching and learning for students seeking health care careers. The technology and learning approach also promotes interdisciplinary education and the ability to connect with other health serving organizations and vast training opportunities for area incumbent health care professionals.
Construction of the $20.2 million Center for Health Science Education and Innovation for Rhodes State College is shown on Tuesday afternoon.
Dr. Cynthia Spiers
Reach Sam Shriver at 567-242-0409.