1st Source helps fund nursing building

Indiana’s 1st Source Bank recently donated $100,000 to support the construction of a state-of-the-art nursing education building on the Southwestern Michigan College campus in Dowagiac, Mich.

The funds will be used to create a collaborative working space for students and professors.

The new 29,086 square-foot building, which is more than double the size of the current nursing school facility, will have a bevy of new features, including eight classrooms, three labs, a student lounge, three debriefing rooms, and an enlarged faculty area. It will be completed in time for the spring 2019 semester.

“When we learned of Southwestern Michigan College’s plans to advance their nursing education facilities, we were compelled to contribute to the project,” said Kevin Murphy, central region president at the $6.3 billion 1st Source Bank, based in South Bend. “1st Source holds community leadership and the betterment of our communities among our highest missions as an organization. The health and well-being of the people in this area is part of that mission, and there is no better way to ensure those things thrive than to have highly-trained and confident nurses and medical professionals in our hospitals and practices.”

The expansion of SMC’s nursing school facilities was prompted by an expected U.S. nursing shortage, which is projected to reach 260,000 by 2025, SMC said. Expanding its nursing and health education building will allow the college to admit more students into health programs and better prepare students for the demands of the healthcare industry.

“It’s our honor to have 1st Source Bank as a partner on this project,” says Dr. David M. Mathews, President of Southwestern Michigan College. “The expansion of this program’s facilities is our largest undertaking, and it will be one that produces the greatest reward for our students and communities.”