After a year of construction, Ivy Tech opened its newly renovated health sciences and nursing building Jan. 12 on its main Indianapolis campus.
The Illinois Fall Creek Center had been closed since the end of 2024. Starting this semester, Ivy Tech Indy’s health care students will take their classes in that building. Renovations include new classroom and lab space so students can get hands-on experience.
Until recently, Ivy Tech’s health care programs, including nursing, were housed at the college’s Lawrence building, at Fort Benjamin Harrison. In fall 2024, Ivy Tech announced its plans to renovate the Illinois Fall Creek Center on the main campus and eventually sell the Lawrence building.
Ivy Tech is now one step closer to that goal. Starting this semester, Ivy Tech moved students in all its health care programs, excluding nursing, to the Indianapolis campus.
Nursing students will stay in Lawrence for the spring and then relocate for summer classes, to give the space time to be fully approved by the state Board of Nursing.
The goal of the renovations was to move nursing and health care students closer to the downtown Indy hospitals and clinics for internships and work experience.
“This is really our central hub,” said campus chief operating officer Andy Cummings. “This is where the bulk of our activity takes place.”
But because most health care students were taking all their classes in Lawrence, some of them came to the Indianapolis campus for the first time this month.
“It feels like I’m going to high school again,” medical office administration student Brandy Tyus told Mirror Indy on a recent Thursday as she arrived for class.
Students adjust
Medical assisting student Carrick Terhune likes the campus so far.
After a semester online and taking classes at Ivy Tech’s Hamilton County campus in Noblesville, her first time on the Indy campus was at the beginning of this semester.
“It seems to be, in terms of my experience so far, very easy to navigate,” Terhune, 32, told Mirror Indy.
Terhune didn’t always dream of working in health care. But when her mom was diagnosed with cancer several years ago, Terhune became her full-time caregiver and discovered her love for patient care.
“I love helping people,” she said.
For Ngun Dim, also a medical assisting student, the transition means she’s now splitting her time between two different campuses.
Two days a week, she’s commuting to Ivy Tech’s Plainfield location and the other two, she’s now coming to Indianapolis for classes. While it’s worth it to pursue her degree in a career she’s passionate about, it’s required some adjustments — and a lot of time spent driving.
“It’s very new to all of us,” she said.
What’s next?
The Illinois Fall Creek Center renovations were the most significant undertaking in the Ivy Tech campus redevelopment plan.
Now, Cummings said the college is working on renovations to the North Meridian Center, including a new entrance and enrollment center. He’s expecting construction to be completed in the fall.
After the nursing students move over to the newly renovated building this summer, Cummings said the college will begin the process of selling its Lawrence location.
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Claire Rafford covers higher education for Mirror Indy in partnership with Open Campus. Contact Claire by email claire.rafford@mirrorindy.org, on most social media @clairerafford or on Signal 317-759-0429.
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