POMONA, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 08/13/10 -- Western University of Health Sciences will welcome alumni, community leaders and special guests to a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Health Education Center and Patient Care Center at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2010 at 795 E. Second St., Pomona, on the WesternU campus.

California State University Chancellor Charles B. Reed, EdD, will serve as the keynote speaker.

The two new buildings are the cornerstones of WesternU's $100-million expansion project that includes more than a half million square feet of new and renovated space.

The Patient Care Center (PCC) brings together a Medical Center, Eye Care Center, Dental Center, Foot & Ankle Center and Pharmacy under one roof, creating a true health care destination for the Inland Valley and beyond.

"While this Center is an impressive, state-of-the-art facility, it is what will happen within this building that will be significant," said WesternU President Philip Pumerantz, PhD. "Here, patients will be treated in the Western University of Health Sciences tradition of humanism, science & caring."

The Interprofessional Suites in the PCC have been specifically designed to support Western University of Health Sciences' vision and mission of training its graduates on how to excel in a complex health care delivery model that emphasizes collaborative, compassionate and competent health care delivery.

The 180,000-square-foot Health Education Center (HEC) houses the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, the College of Dental Medicine, the College of Optometry and the College of Podiatric Medicine. HEC features two large lecture halls, small group learning rooms, teaching laboratories in dental medicine and optometry, research laboratories, commons areas, conference rooms and faculty offices.

About Western University of Health Sciences

Western University of Health Sciences (www.westernu.edu), located in Pomona, Calif., is an independent nonprofit health professions university, conferring degrees in biomedical sciences, dental medicine, health sciences, nursing, optometry, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant studies, podiatric medicine and veterinary medicine.