FORT WAYNE — It’s not a done deal yet, but it appears very likely that a $7.5 million biomechanics center — the most expensive piece of a four-part economic development effort Trine University originally proposed to Steuben County — will end up in Fort Wayne.
“I can’t be really specific about the details,” Michael Bock, Trine senior vice president, said Tuesday, “but it looks like a potential partnership with Parkview Health. Some pieces of it are still confidential … but we’re pretty confident it will be Parkview.”
Separately from its other economic development proposals, Trine, which has a campus in Fort Wayne just off Dupont Road near Parkview North, has begun work to create a doctoral program in physical therapy. That always was destined to be based in Fort Wayne because of the hospital rotations and other clinical training required.
“Parkview is interested in a partnership with Trine,” Parkview spokesman John Perlich confirmed. “We continue to have discussions with them to see how we can accomplish similar goals to grow physical therapy and biomechanics opportunities in the region. We feel there is a need for these types of services and expertise, and we continue to talk to Trine officials to work on the details of the project.”
Steuben County officials are hopeful the project remains local, but are realistic about the prospect that the biomechanical center could end up in Fort Wayne.
“I don’t think it’s all gone. I don’t think the whole thing’s gone. Will the one end up in Fort Wayne? Probably,” said Chris Snyder, Fremont town manager who has been heading a steering committee with the Steuben County Economic Development Corp. to site the project in Steuben County. “They (Trine) certainly have to keep their options open. I would like to see it all in Steuben County, but they need to act in their best interest, too.”
“Of course, it’s disappointing it’s not happening in Steuben County, but in reality, it probably makes more sense to be down there by a larger hospital. But, to be honest with you, I would like to have had it here,” said Angola Mayor Dick Hickman.
Trine also is in discussions with other area colleges — including the University of Saint Francis, Huntington University and Grace College in Winona Lake — about potential academic partnerships.
“We are always looking for ways to partner to bring more offerings to students, so conversations to expand our (physical therapy) program may be beneficial,” said Sister M. Elise Kriss, president of USF.
Forty-five percent of that university’s students are in health services fields.
Additionally, Trine is in talks with Fort Wayne’s Northeast Indiana Innovation Center about space for student labs, and the VA Northern Indiana Health Care System has been mentioned previously as a potential partner.
Trine officials were in Washington, D.C., March 2 to talk to the area’s elected representatives about support for their proposals.
Late last year, Trine presented a $28-million economic development plan to the Steuben County Commissioners. The plan asked for $13.9 million in Major Moves funds — money the county had received as its distribution from the Indiana Toll Road lease — for the capital portions of the project, and pledged to contribute $14 million of its own to help fund operations.
But when county officials balked at some of the financial proposals and could not agree with the university on a memorandum of understanding in late January, Trine withdrew its offer and announced it would look elsewhere for partners.
Since then, it has had conversations with eight counties or communities, Bock said, including Whitley, DeKalb and Kosciusko counties, Sturgis, Mich., and Fort Wayne/Allen County.
The Steuben commissioners later invited Trine back to the table to continue discussions, and a joint meeting of the commissioners and the Steuben County Council approved a nonbinding memorandum of understanding. But county officials said in February they had received no response from the university.
A committee put together by the county has met four times and was working on getting Trine back to the table for more negotiations, Snyder said. He was hopeful county officials would be able to find funding for the remaining portions of the proposal.
Trine is known for its engineering school, and the first three pegs in its economic development plan all would be located on Trine’s main campus in Angola. All would be created by renovations or additions to existing buildings.
The Rhoads Center for Entrepreneurship, named after alumnus Mitch Rhoads, would be created within the university’s business school to provide advice and assistance for startup businesses as well as for existing businesses with new ideas for products or services.
Six companies have expressed interest in working with the entrepreneurship program since Trine proposed it, Bock said.
A technology commercialization lab would provide students and others who develop new ideas and products help with obtaining patents, licensing the technology or developing the technology into real businesses. And Bock Biomedical Engineering would be a biomedical engineering program created within the engineering school and designed to meet the needs of the area’s orthopedic industry employers.
Even though those programs would be based in Angola, Trine is looking at partners outside Steuben County to help make them happen.
“There is a synergy. The (facilities) would need to be built here, but if you are the successful partner, you will get jobs,” Bock said.
Trine already has interviewed people for about 10 positions it would expect to create in conjunction with the Angola pieces of its proposal, and is ready to hire. It also is preparing to put those construction projects out for bids so that the work can begin in May and be completed by mid-August.
“We’re trying to have everything set so we can flip the switch and be ready to go,” Bock said.
As a parallel launch to its biomedical engineering program, Trine’s Biomechanics/Movement Sciences Center would be staffed by physical therapists, physicians and students and would focus on the rehabilitation of patients who had had orthopedic surgeries. It would focus on developing practices and protocols that shorten recovery time, assisting returning veterans and developing new products.
The center, which would require the construction of a new building, would come later than the first three pieces of the development plan — but no later than absolutely necessary.
“We’re continuing to pursue this as aggressively as we can,” Bock said. “Jobs are so important to this northeast Indiana region and so critical to what we’re doing that it’s paramount we move quickly.”
Perlich said Parkview “applauds” Trine President Earl Brooks II for his vision for the project.
“We’re always looking for ways to bring services to our community that will result in employment opportunities and increased access to care for patients,” Perlich said. “We look forward to a great partnership.”
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