Union College brought together city, county and regional representatives on August 14 to celebrate a recent partnership that will benefit southeastern Kentucky.

The Partnership Celebration marked Union’s ceremonial first payment to the Knox County Fiscal Court for the former Knox County Hospital building.

The event also honored the many collaborations and partnerships that led to the lease-purchase agreement between Union and the Fiscal Court, and looked ahead to what those partnerships will make possible in the near future.

Union College is purchasing the former hospital building to bring it on-line as a campus facility that will likely serve as the home base for future nursing and other health career programs.

The featured speaker, Congressman Harold Rogers, called Union’s purchase of the hospital a “win-win-win” for the county, the city and the college.  He praised “the visionary spirit that exists here,” and said the agreement “shows the cooperation that has been the hallmark of the improvement of our whole region over the years.”

Congressman Rogers also addressed the issue of health care, telling guests that the current and future nursing shortage has serious implications for the region. “This is going to give you an opportunity to be a major player in a very necessary field, and that’s health care,” he said.

Congressman Hal Rogers addresses
guests at the Partnership Celebration.

Union’s president, Edward de Rosset, told those gathered that “we have a nice story here because it’s about people coming together in ways that will bring 50 to 75 years of new life to a building that once served the community so well and in important ways.”

He shared early plans for the nursing program, which is still under feasibility study. According to de Rosset, Union is looking at “a program for traditional students and for non-traditional students interested in changing careers.”

President de Rosset explained that several options are being considered, from programs that take students from registered nurse status to a bachelor’s in nursing, to tracks that lead to master’s degrees for registered nurses.

In Senator Robert Stivers’ address to the crowd, he noted that “there is no way you couldn’t get on board with this project and try to help. It’s going to make a major difference for Barbourville, Knox County and Union College.”

Union hopes to have a small nursing class in place by fall 2009.  The hospital is expected to take longer to renovate, with 2010 being the earliest point by which it could be used. Several, including Congressman Rogers and Senator Stivers, have offered support in seeking grants to help fund the building’s rehabilitation.

Union College is a liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. To learn more about Union, visit www.unionky.edu.