GMercyU Breaks Ground on Frances M. Maguire Healthcare Innovation Center to Kickoff the 75th Anniversary Celebration
Gwynedd Mercy University celebrated the first steps toward the completion of the state-of-the-art Frances M. Maguire Healthcare Innovation Center by holding a groundbreaking ceremony as part of its annual Mercy Week festivities.
Following Mercy Day mass on September 27, the groundbreaking ceremony took place behind Valie Genuardi Hall as one of the highlights of GMercyU’s year long 75th anniversary celebration. The construction of the 63,000-square-foot building was made possible in part by a transformative $10 million gift from The Maguire Foundation, honoring the late Frannie Maguire, a 1955 GMercyU graduate. The Center will be the centerpiece of the Frances M. Maguire Healthcare Innovation Campus and further the University’s commitment to preparing compassionate healthcare leaders rooted in the tradition of the Sisters of Mercy.
“Frances M. Maguire Healthcare Innovation Center will build upon Gwynedd Mercy University’s longstanding legacy in professional and healthcare education by creating a state-of-the-market environment in which students will learn to combine the power of technology with a compassionate, person-centered care mindset in the Mercy tradition. Here, students across a variety of majors – from nursing and respiratory care to computer information science and psychology – will be focused on providing equitable access to compassionate care that meets the needs of today and the future,” shared President Deanne H. D’Emilio, JD at the ceremony.
It is Mercy that will continue to make the difference.
- President D'Emilio
The Center will include state-of the-market immersive simulation and laboratory spaces that give students the opportunity to practice their clinical skills, and address and navigate complicated patient scenarios. It will unite students from the award-winning respiratory care, public health, psychology, and social work programs, among others, to foster interprofessional collaboration, a best practice in healthcare.
It also will include expansive gathering spaces, including the Frances Cannata ’66 and Joseph Stimmler Inspiration Station. This new space, made possible through a generous $2 million grant from the Regina Charitable Fund at the Philadelphia Foundation, honors the contributions to healthcare and nursing in the greater Philadelphia region of the Regina Community Nursing Center led by founder and alumna Frances Cannata Stimmler ’66 and the late Joseph Stimmler.
Several other leadership gifts were made in support of the Center. Dr. Jie Du, a loyal friend of the University and former President’s Council member, committed $1 million. Charlotte McKines, chair of GMercyU’s Board of Trustees, made a generous leadership commitment. The Alden Trust Foundation generously donated a six-figure gift to provide modern technology in the Center.
State Sen. Maria Collett and stat Rep. Liz Hanbidge joined together to support GMercyU in being awarded with an additional $1.25 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
“I was proud to secure $1.25 million in state grant funding, alongside Representative Liz Hanbidge, for Gwynedd Mercy University’s Healthcare Innovation Center. This new facility is an investment in the future of our healthcare workforce, and it’s just the most recent example of GMercyU’s longstanding commitment to our community and improving higher education in our Commonwealth," shared Sen. Maria Collett.
The Center will extend GMercyU’s longstanding commitment to meeting the next great need. Today, that includes meeting the urgent need for registered nurses and respiratory therapists. A study released by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing in April noted a 3.3% decline in the U.S. nursing workforce in the past two years, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics projected the workforce to grow by 6% over the next decade.
“As we begin our yearlong celebration of our transformation from a small junior college that opened in 1948 to a nationally-ranked University today, we stand ready to meet the next great need and achieve our vision of becoming the Catholic university leader in professional and healthcare education,” shared President D’Emilio.