TBCC breaks ground on healthcare education building

Tillamook Bay Community College members gathered at the school’s 3rd Street campus on the afternoon of June 21, for a groundbreaking ceremony for the college’s new $23.8 million healthcare education building.

The new building, scheduled for completion by the end of September 2025, will house the college’s new nursing program and provide additional space for healthcare occupation training programs.

Funding for the project is coming from two primary sources, the first a $14.4 million bond approved by Tillamook County voters in November 2022 and the second an $8 million award from the Oregon Legislature. The balance of the funding is coming courtesy of a $1.4 million bond premium.

The new building will be situated to the south of the college’s main building and consist of 28,000 square feet spread across two floors. The first floor will house a nursing skills lab, EMT classroom and large meeting room that will be available for community events, while the second floor will host more classrooms and a new administrative suite for the college.

Tillamook Bay Community College (TBCC) began its nursing program at the beginning of this year with 18 students and is designed to be completed in 18 months.

Opsis Architecture designed the building with feedback from faculty, staff, students and community members, and Wenaha Group will be managing the project.

At the groundbreaking, TBCC President Paul Jarrell welcomed attendees and thanked community members who had helped to consummate the project, including past President Ross Tomlin, the college’s board of directors, TBCC Foundation Chair Michael Weissenfluh, Dean of Nursing Tiffany Slover, members of the Yes for TBCC political action committee and all the college’s employees.

Tomlin then took over the microphone and told the crowd about the project’s history, which dates to 2018 when the college’s staff met at the Tillamook Creamery for a brainstorming session. They identified the need for a new facilities master plan for the college and probable need for a new building to continue expanding the college’s mission.

A community-wide survey was conducted in 2019 that identified the need for more healthcare worker training and echoed staff sentiment about the need for a new building. Following the survey, the college’s board passed a new facilities master plan in April 2020, which called for a new classroom building.

Also in April 2020, the college applied to the state legislature for a matching fund grant of $8 million for the project, with the college’s application ranked the number one community college project in Oregon.

After receiving the high ranking, Tomlin said that TBCC staff and board members heard consistent feedback that more training specifically geared at healthcare workers was needed. In response to that input, the board updated the facilities master plan in April 2021 to designate the new building for healthcare education.

That summer, the legislature approved a grant of $8 million, and following advice from ex-President John Carnahan, Tomlin and the board elected to pursue the $14-million bond, which was approved by voters in May 2022.

Following Tomlin’s comments, the groundbreaking proceeded, with first members of the college’s board of directors and other project members, then members of the Yes for TBCC committee and finally TBCC staff and faculty taking turns at the shovels.