WellSpan Health, an integrated health system that serves communities in South Central Pennsylvania and northern Maryland, recently took a moment to honor a part of WellSpan York Hospital's past as it continues to prepare for the hospital's future expansion.  

Over a span of nearly nine decades, the York Hospital School of Nursing shaped the careers of countless nurses until the program transitioned to York College in 1979, a result of the movement of nursing education to colleges and universities. The Marie Ketterman Building at WellSpan York Hospital, which was recently razed to make way for construction of a new Surgical and Critical Care Tower on the hospital campus, used to serve as a dormitory for the York Hospital School of Nursing. 

To commemorate the Ketterman Building's importance to nursing education, WellSpan has donated 1,000 bricks collected from the demolition of the building to the York Hospital School of Nursing Alumni Association. The Alumni Association will be launching a campaign titled "Sustain Our Legacy – Acquire a Brick" to sell the bricks and raise money for its scholarship fund, which supports individuals pursuing a degree in nursing. 

"As we look to the future with our ongoing hospital expansion project, we recognize and respect the historical significance of the York Hospital School of Nursing and the proud alumni that guide our mission, vision and values," said Victoria Diamond, senior vice president, WellSpan Health Central Region, and president, WellSpan York Hospital. "While the Ketterman Building may be gone to make way for the future, we're delighted that the York Hospital School of Nursing Alumni Association plans to sell bricks from the building to raise money for nursing student scholarships, making it possible for more students to become the professional nurses our community is so in need of today." 

Joanne Sherlock Senft, president of the York Hospital School of Nursing Alumni Association, said, "For those of us who lived in the Marie Ketterman Building, our memories will remain vivid. It was a time that we developed lifelong friendships as we worked through difficult courses and experiences to learn how to care for our patients. As we look to the future and new structure to be built on the site, we remember the York Hospital School of Nursing's legacy – one we never want to forget." 

WellSpan Health is significantly enhancing WellSpan York Hospital as a center of excellence for advanced care. Demolition of the Ketterman Building, as well as the adjacent South Hall building, has been completed to prepare for construction of a new Surgical and Critical Care Tower, the centerpiece of an expansion that will make WellSpan York Hospital one of the top 10 largest hospitals in Pennsylvania. 

WellSpan York Hospital was founded in 1880 in downtown York and relocated its current location in 1929. Nearly 5,000 people work on the almost 28-acre campus, making WellSpan Health the largest employer in York County and a major economic engine contributing over $1.8 billion annually to the area's economy.