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MIAMI, Fla. (Sept. 24, 2003) – Students
in the College of Health and Urban Affairs at Florida International
University will have one of the nation’s
premier lecture facilities, due in part to a $450,000 gift from Blue Cross
and Blue Shield of Florida, university officials announced today.
The BC/BS gift, which will grow to
$900,000 with State matching funds, is earmarked for the construction
of a state-of-the-art auditorium to be outfitted with
the latest wireless communication technologies. The auditorium, to be named
the Blue
Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Auditorium, is part of the second phase
of the new $38 million Health and Life Sciences Complex at FIU-University
Park.
The
complex will house the College and several of its programs, including the
School of Nursing; the School of Social Work, Policy and Management;
the School of
Health Sciences and the planned Dr. Robert Stempel School of Public Health.
“Blue Cross Blue Shield’s investment in health education is a direct
investment in our community,” said FIU President Modesto A. Maidique. “The
education of health professionals, including nurses, is one of the greatest challenges
we face in the healthcare field at the moment and in the foreseeable future.”
South Florida has the third-worse
nursing shortage in the country. In fact, the Florida Hospital
Association estimates that 34,000 new nurses will
be needed by the year 2006.
Ken Sellers, group vice president,
BC/BSF, said the company understands that investments in education
pay for themselves many times over.
“Providing affordable health
care choices to all Floridians is an issue we here at Blue Cross
and Blue Shield work on every day,” said Sellers. “We
feel this donation will further the health and well being of Floridians
by giving future health practitioners the facilities and resources
needed to enhance their
education.”
Florida International University
has 35,000 students and offers more than 190 degree programs.
The university is ranked among the top
150 universities
in
the country.
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From
left to right are: Melvyn Fletcher(VP of Patient Care and
Quality Management),MD; Martha de la Peña (Community
Events
Coordinator); Shelly Spivack (Manager of Govt. and Public
Relations); FIU
President Mitch Maidique; Kenneth Sellers (Group VP); FIU
Foundation Board of Directors Chairman
Donald Liefton; College of Health and Urban Affairs Dean
Ronald Berkman; Deb
Swartwood (Dir. of Health Business Unit) ; Rona Levitt
(Manager of Wellness
and Health Education programs) |
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