Binghamton University opens Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences building in Johnson City

JOHNSON CITY, N.Y. — Binghamton University’s Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences has started operations on the university’s nearly 15-acre health-sciences campus in Johnson City.

The Health Sciences Building at 48 Corliss Ave. was constructed in 1916 as the Endicott Johnson Shoe Corp. Pioneer Annex and was previously home to shoe and shoe-box manufacturing. Binghamton University acquired the 93,000-square-foot structure in early 2015 and completed “extensive” cleaning before renovations began in March 2019.

Crews completely renovated the facility’s interior and then demolished an addition in the rear of the structure. They eventually constructed a new, 20,000-square-foot addition, providing Decker College with 113,000 square feet of classroom, clinical laboratory, and research space, including a simulation and health-care learning lab.

A combination of Upstate Revitalization funds, SUNY capital-project money, and some campus funds helped pay for the nearly $50 million project, the school said in an online news release. It will formally open the new building “when it is safe to do so.”

Decker College includes the Decker School of Nursing, along with the School of Rehabilitation Sciences and the School of Applied Health Sciences, both of which were established in 2019.

“The Health Sciences Building not only gives us the space we need to continue developing additional academic programs in physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology and health sciences, but also enables us to increase our simulation and practice experiences for students,” Mario Ortiz, dean of Decker College, said. “Additionally, we now have the capacity to deliver simulation education for outside organizations that require this type of professional training.”

Decker College faculty, staff and students are using the newly renovated facility for the first time during this current semester.  Most nursing courses are online this spring due to the pandemic, but simulation activities are happening in the new facility and following social distancing, density reduction, and sanitization protocols, Binghamton said.

Besides the Health Sciences Building, the health sciences campus is also home to the university’s School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, which opened in 2018. The campus is located a block from Main Street in Johnson City, not far from UHS Wilson Medical Center and Ascension Lourdes Hospital.