The University of Florida held a beam signing event commemorating the construction of its new Student Health Care Center.
The beam signing event invited UF students and faculty to sign their names on an I-beam that will be used in the construction of the building.
The Student Health Care Center will provide a variety of functions such as a women's clinic, nutritional education, and primary care.
Dr. Ronald Berry, director of the Student Health Care Center, was the first person to sign the commemorative I-beam.
Berry said the building has immediate benefit in the pandemic.
A feature of the new building will be an advanced air-intake system.
"The air that comes into this space, that will include the check-in, waiting room, six exam rooms and the provider space, is 100% outside air that is not put back into the building at all," Berry said. " So, if it goes past someone who has COVID, it will go out of the room and out of the building. "
Berry has been with UF Health for close to thirty years, and says he is excited for the opening in the future.
Berry was the first person to sign the commemorative I-beam.
Also in attendance for the beam signing was Hans Martinez, an official with UF Student Government.
Martinez said staying connected in an important aspect of the building.
"We're creating an area where students can come together, address their health issues as well as create areas of engagement," Martinez said. "That's the biggest thing for student government. We want to be able to have people come together where people can come together and congregate."
The opening of the building is reassuring for Martinez.
"Over the last few years, we noticed the importance of both physical health and mental health with the whole pandemic," Martinez continued. "We're lucky to be at a university that really cares about students. I think this new care center especially is a huge showing by the university of how much they care about the well-being and the health of the people that are in it."
The Student Health Care center is slated to open in late 2022.