South Suburban Community College gets $35.8 million for new health facility

Chronicle Media

South Suburban Community College in South Holland. (Photo courtesy of SSCC)

Governor J.B. Pritzker released $35.8 million for construction of an Allied Health Facility at South Suburban Community College in South Holland.

The funding was included in the bipartisan Rebuild Illinois capital plan, the most robust capital plan in Illinois history and the first in nearly a decade.

The project includes planning and design for an approximately 130,000 square foot, four-story facility as part of a cutting-edge teaching facility to train students for health care careers. Projected cost for the project is approximately $70 million, with nearly $17 million in state funding already released and the remaining funding being provided locally.

“This state-of-the-art facility will provide training for thousands of students seeking careers in medical fields, ensuring they can meet the jobs of today and providing a critical investment to the South Suburban community,” said Gov. J.B. Pritzker. “Community colleges like South Suburban, are economic engines for our communities, helping to create jobs and grow our economy and I’m proud that our Rebuild Illinois capital plan includes investments in community colleges across the state.”

“This is a great day for the South Suburban College community,” said Frank M. Zuccarelli, Chairman of the SSC Board of Trustees. “This capital addition will provide state-of-the art teaching and lab facilities that will allow us to both expand and enhance our current healthcare programs, as well as bring new exciting curriculum to our students to prepare them for highly skilled, in-demand jobs. Our Southland community deserves the opportunities that this facility will provide to them and I commend Governor Pritzker and our legislators for making this happen for all of our talented faculty, staff and students.”

With an average of 24 percent of South Suburban Community College students choosing career pathways in nursing and allied health professions, this new facility will help meet growing student demand for health-related education and training. The facility will provide training for health care careers such as registered nurses and nursing assistants, community health workers, emergency medical technicians, radiologists, echocardiography technicians, occupational therapy assistants, phlebotomists, pharmacy technicians, medical assistants, and medical records and coding specialists.

The facility will also provide space for new career programs including dental hygiene, respiratory technician, physical therapy assistant, and patient care technician, in addition to a community health center and child care center.

The historic Rebuild Illinois capital plan passed with bipartisan supermajorities and will invest $45 billion in roads, bridges, railways, universities, early childhood centers and state facilities like the crime lab and veterans’ homes over the next six years, creating and supporting an estimated 540,000 jobs over the life of the plan and revitalizing local economies across the state.

South Suburban Community College is a community college located in South Holland, Illinois, and with an extension site in Oak Forest, serving 21 communities including parts of the Chicago Southland and northwest Indiana. South Suburban College serves more than 9,000 students annually and offers more than 100 program options to those students. In September, South Suburban Community College officially received its full reaccreditation for the maximum period of 10 years from the Higher Learning Commission.