FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Zina L. Carter
979.532.6417
This architectural rendering reveals what the Johnson Health Occupations Center on the Wharton campus will look like once a major construction project is complete. Already underway, the project includes the renovation of 34,000 square feet and the creation of an 18,000 square foot addition. The entire project is expected to be finished by August of 2018.
WHARTON, TEXAS – Wharton County Junior College will host a groundbreaking ceremony for the renovation and expansion of the Johnson Health Occupations Center at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26 at the Wharton campus. The event is open to the public, though reservations are requested. Call 979-532-6322 to reserve a seat.
The ceremony marks the renovation of the 34,000 square foot Johnson Health Occupations Center as well as the creation of an 18,000 square foot addition. Completion dates are May of 2018 for the new addition and August of 2018 for the renovation. The WCJC Board of Trustees awarded a construction bid last May. Houston-based Abel Design Group and Bass Construction of Rosenberg are overseeing the project. Estimated cost of the project is $6.5 million, not including equipment and furnishings.
The Johnson Health Occupations Center opened its doors in 1981, in large part thanks to the generosity of the M.G. and Lillie A. Johnson Foundation. The new addition and renovation are the latest of many projects made possible at the college over the years thanks to the foundation.
“Because of the support of the Johnson Foundation, the college was able to make this plan a reality,” said WCJC President Betty McCrohan. “The Division of Allied Health contains some of our most popular programs and students who successfully complete these challenging fields of study are well-equipped for rewarding careers in a variety of health-related fields. By renovating and expanding the Johnson Health Occupations
Center, we can continue to offer students hands-on training opportunities that will give them the edge they need to be successful in these competitive careers.”
WCJC’s Division of Allied Health contains eight programs, including Associate Degree Nursing, Dental Hygiene, Health Information Technology, Human Services, Physical Therapist Assistant, Radiologic Technology, Vocational Nursing and Pre-baccalaureate Nursing.
In the future, the Emergency Medical Services program will relocate from the LaDieu Technology Center to the Johnson Health Occupations Center.
