Learning through care
Decker students hone skills through hands-on geriatric care in the community
Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences is a critical link in the Southern Tier’s health care chain. This connection begins with the superb nurses and allied health providers it trains, who often pursue careers in the region, and extends to the direct care it provides to thousands through its community health programs. New growth will soon augment both advantages.
At the end of 2020, the Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences officially opened the doors to its new home on Binghamton’s 15-acre Health Sciences Campus in Johnson City. Built in 1916 for the Endicott Johnson Shoe Corporation, the structure has been reimagined, providing Decker students, faculty and researchers with 112,000 square feet of state-of-the-art classroom, clinical laboratory and research space, including a leading-edge simulation lab.
Decker’s expanded presence means greater investment in community health, including an expansion of its geriatric health services program, already a lifeline for many area seniors with limited access to primary health care. Thanks to a gift from Anne A. Hubbard, the program will soon have a new home near campus: the Ford Family Wellness Center, scheduled to open in 2022. Developed in partnership with Lourdes Ascension, it will bring together physicians, nurses, social workers and pharmacists to enhance senior health care, including primary, wellness, and holistic services, at a time of growing demand.
The center embodies Binghamton’s commitment to a healthier region, while grounding tomorrow’s nurses, therapists and public health professionals in real-care experiences. Provost Donald Nieman describes the coming facility, “It’s really multidimensional — serving the University as an educational institution, as well as the local hospitals aiming to cut down on readmissions. And it serves the community because we have an aging population, and this allows us to deliver high-quality care to our neighbors who need it most.”
To have a conversation about investing in the community health programs at Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences, please contact Rebecca Benner, Associate VP for Advancement and Campaign Director, rbenner@binghamton.edu.