Topping out celebration held at Greenville Technical College’s Prisma Health Center for Health & Life Sciences
May 30, 2023
A topping out celebration was held on May 26 at Greenville Technical College’s (GTC) Prisma Health Center for Health & Life Sciences. The ritual of topping out to celebrate the safe completion of a structure is one with roots reaching back for centuries. This celebration by the project team and guests marked placement of the last steel beam on the facility, signifying that the building had reached its maximum height.
The three-story, 125,000 square-foot Prisma Health Center for Health & Life Sciences, expected to open in fall 2024, will serve as a hub at the heart of campus, impacting 90 percent of Greenville Technical College students with general education requirements, welcoming 150,000 visitors annually, and serving all of the 500-600 health science graduates that the college contributes to the local workforce each year.
The facility has been named the Prisma Health Center for Health & Life Sciences thanks to a $1.5 million gift from the state’s largest healthcare organization and the number one employer of Greenville Technical College graduates. Prisma Health has partnered with the college for decades to create well-qualified professionals to enter the healthcare field and provide the highest quality patient care once they complete programs in nursing and the allied health fields.
In addition, many donations are funding named spaces within the building. Contributions to the facility have come from Bon Secours Health System, the F.W. Symmes Foundation, Harper General Contractors, Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative honoring Kenneth Southerlin, the GTC President’s Cabinet, Caroline McIntyre and Sally Potosky, the Bosch Community Fund, and Mike and Susan Cinquemani dedicated to Mark A. Yocono, MD.
“We are grateful to the many partners joining with us to create the future of education at the heart of our Barton Campus,” said Dr. Keith Miller, president of Greenville Technical College. “We greatly appreciate all those who have helped the facility reach today’s important milestone and whose hard work will see the progress continue until the day we open our doors to a transformative learning environment.”
The building design will feature glass cutouts that allow for a look at science in action. There will be suites for medical imaging, ultrasound, radiological technology, and more. An Anatomage Lab will feature virtual dissection tables with fully interactive, life-size touch screens. Non-classroom spaces including conversation rooms, study carrels, and outside seating will encourage students to stay and connect long after classes are over.
This flexible and dynamic learning environment will support rapidly changing workforce needs, promote deeper engagement between faculty, staff, students, and the community, and support varying modes of learning and delivery of instruction. Learning will be made visible and accessible, inviting students to join with faculty in connecting and collaborating.
