ABOUT THE HSBA

Valdosta State University's HSBA building will serve as an advanced academic facility to educate Georgia's future health care professionals.

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VSU Celebrates Opening of Health Sciences & Business Administration Building

BY THRESSEA BOYD

VALDOSTA – Valdosta State University held a ribbon cutting for the Health Sciences and Business Administration (HSBA) building Friday, April 18, at the Rea and Lillian Steele North Campus.

The ceremony will include remarks from VSU President William J. McKinney, Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens, Georgia Senator Tim Golden, former VSU President Ronald M. Zaccari, and VSU Interim President Louis Levy. Following the ceremony, guests were invited to tour the facility.

“As we continue to build a more engaged and innovative Valdosta State, our Health Sciences and Business Administration building will serve as one of Georgia’s premier academic facilities designed to educate future health care professionals,” said VSU President William J. McKinney. “The programs housed inside the HSBA building are the cornerstone for our focus on comprehensive health care education, allowing us to expand partnerships and collaborations with South Georgia Medical Center and other regional health care providers, enhancing economic development through applied research and business partnerships, and improving the quality of life for South Georgia residents.”

The $32 million, approximately 150,000-square-foot structure houses six health professions programs: nursing, athletic training, exercise physiology, communication sciences and disorders, social work, and health care administration. The building will also include a dental hygiene program in partnership with Wiregrass Georgia Technical College.

Previously housed in five different buildings across campus, the HSBA building allows students and faculty to engage in cross-disciplinary discussions and research, in addition to expanding interaction with health professionals at South Georgia Medical Center and other health agencies.

The HSBA building has allowed the Langdale College of Business Administration to introduce a new Bachelor of Business Administration and online Master of Business Administration in health care administration.  In May 2013, Communication and Sciences Disorders was approved to offer a Doctor of Speech-Language Pathology, to address the needs of professionals at the service, administration, and clinical research level. In addition, the HSBA building will provide space for development of a doctorate in nursing, a master’s degree in exercise physiology, and a bachelor’s degree in social work.

The HSBA was designed by Heery International and Ellis, Ricket and Associates (ERA), and was designed for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. Lovell Engineering provided civil engineering services and Doran and Karwoski provided landscape design.



HSBA by the Numbers

10
Health Professions Majors
1609
Students Currently Enrolled in Health Professions Programs
57
Faculty Teaching Health Professions Courses

Laying the Foundation for Georgia’s Health Care Workforce

BY THRESSEA BOYD

VALDOSTA – Valdosta State University’s Health Science and Business Administration (HSBA) building will serve as an advanced academic facility to educate Georgia’s future health care professionals. It is the cornerstone of the university’s focus on comprehensive health sciences programs.

The HSBA building will unite the efforts of the university and local hospitals in producing more nurses and other health care providers. This building will be a significant contributor to the University System of Georgia’s Health Professions and Education Committee (HPEC) 2011 initiative to “ensure that Georgia has the health workforce it needs in the future.” 

The vision for the HSBA building began under the leadership of Dr. Ronald M. Zaccari, VSU’s president from 2002-2008, and became part of the university’s 2004 and 2007 master plans. In the early stages, Zaccari began discussions with South Georgia Medical Center CEO James McGahee, who retired in 2011, to develop a plan that would increase health care opportunities for the citizens of South Georgia and the state.

The $32 million, 150,000-square-foot structure will house six health professions programs:  nursing, athletic training, exercise physiology, communication sciences and disorders, social work, and business health care administration. The building will also include a dental hygiene program in partnership with Wiregrass Georgia Technical College. Previously housed in five different buildings across campus, the HSBA allows students and faculty to engage in cross-disciplinary discussions and research, in addition to expanding greater interaction with health professionals at South Georgia Medical Center and other health agencies.

The building includes a state-of-the-art simulation center, specialized nursing laboratories, and clinical space for advanced learning opportunities and community outreach for each of the health professional programs.

The HSBA building has allowed the Langdale College of Business Administration to introduce a new Bachelor of Business Administration and an online Master of Business Administration in health care administration.  In May 2013, the Department of Communication and Sciences Disorders introduced a Doctor of Speech-Language Pathology (SLP-D), to address the needs of professionals at the service, administration, and clinical research level.

The facility will allow for the further development of a doctorate degree in nursing, a master’s degree in exercise physiology, and a bachelor’s degree in social work.

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Delivery of Programs: College of Nursing and Health Sciences

Nursing

According to the University System of Georgia Health Professions and Education Committee taskforce, without substantial efforts to increase the number of registered nurses (RNs), Georgia faces a shortage of 38,000 RNs by 2020. The HSBA building will allow VSU’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences to increase capacity for nursing degrees at the bachelor and master levels, offer a doctorate in nursing, and increase access to health care degree programs through collaboration with technical and other educational institutions.

Athletic Training

Athletic trainers work in schools, hospitals, and outpatient rehabilitation facilities. According to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association only 42 percent of public high schools have access to athletic trainers. With more than 7 million high schools students in athletic play, this leaves 4 million student-athletes without the means for injury prevention, assessment, treatment and rehabilitation.

Exercise Physiology

The need for more exercise physiologists is growing due to problems with both child and adult obesity and health-related illnesses brought on by a sedentary lifestyle. Students who graduate with a degree in exercise physiology are prepared to work in cardiac rehabilitation and as exercise physiologists. Many of VSU’s exercise physiology graduates seek advance training to become physician assistants, physical therapists or occupational therapists.


Delivery of Programs: Dewar College of Education and Human Services

Communication Sciences and Disorders

Speech-language pathologists (SLP) work in schools, hospitals and nursing facilities, they are required to have a master’s degree in the field to become eligible for licensure and certification to practice in Georgia. The HSBA building allows for the expansion of a Doctor of Speech-Language Pathology (SLP-D), which was approved by the University System of Georgia Board of Regents in May 2013. The SLP-D program addresses the need of current professionals at the service, administration, and clinical research level. The SLP-D program will build upon the university’s nationally accredited Master of Education in communication sciences and disorders program.

Social Work

Georgia’s population is growing and aging, as well as become more diverse. The Department of Labor estimates that jobs for medical and public health social workers are expected to increase by 22 percent, while jobs for mental health and social workers with an expertise in substance abuse will grow by 20 percent. The addition of a bachelor’s in social work (with the existing master’s program) will allow more social workers to enter the field more quickly and work while they acquire an advanced degree.


Delivery of Programs: Langdale College of Business Administration

Health Care Business Administration

The HSBA building has allowed the Langdale College of Business Administration to introduce a new Bachelor of Business Administration and an online Master of Business Administration in health care administration. Both degrees address the rapid growth in health care administration. These highly specialized degrees focus on the delivery of health care management, as it relates to finances, human resources, information technology and policymaking. Graduates with an undergraduate or graduate degree in health care administration are prepared to work in hospitals, nursing homes, public health clinics, and private practice.

Watch the Building Rise from Start to Finish


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Health Sciences and Business Administration Building Designed for the Future

BY THRESSEA BOYD

VALDOSTA–Valdosta State University’s Health Sciences and Business Administration (HSBA) building was designed to provide an academic facility that is home to various health professions disciplines within one location. The $32 million HSBA building houses six health professions programs: nursing, athletic training, exercise physiology, communication sciences and disorders, social work, and health care administration. The building will also include a dental hygiene program in partnership with Wiregrass Georgia Technical College.

Designed by Heery International and Ellis, Ricket and Associates (ERA), the building was designed for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification and contains 150,000 square feet of space, including auditoriums, classrooms, clinical laboratories, meeting and seminar rooms, and administrative and faculty offices. Lovell Engineering provided civil engineering services and Doran and Karwoski provided landscape design.

“The HSBA building presented Heery with significant design challenges. The building needed to honor the more formal Georgian-style architecture that distinguishes the north campus from the rest of the university’s Spanish Mission style,” said Heery Vice President Tom Woodward, who has been part of the HSBA project since its inception. “The building’s educational vision, however, demanded more open and contemporary spaces and greater visibility among departments than traditional Georgian-style typically suggests.”

Heery International was able to balance exterior and interior design elements, selecting Georgian-style red brick and rhythmically spaced windows across the building’s facades, while using more glass to create open, internal space for gathering and collaborating within the building.”

The HSBA also features approximately 10,000 square feet of clinic space to provide health care services for speech and hearing, nursing, social work, athletic training, and exercise physiology to help meet the needs of underserved people in the community.

The HSBA building was constructed by KBR Building Group and managed by the Georgia State Financing & Investment Commission (GSFIC).


 

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