CHB: LCON Headquarters

Located on the University of Memphis Park Avenue Campus, the Loewenberg College of Nursing (LCON) is housed in the east wing of the state-of-the art Community Health Building (CHB). At nearly 200,000 square feet, the $60 million building is one of the largest facilities for health-related education and research in the Mid-South. The college contains fully functioning labs that provide students with simulated clinical practice opportunities to care for patients with common or complex health issues.

Take a peek inside the Community Health Building and see some of our nursing students at work in our interactive tour of campus.

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Fun Facts

"The building has so many different places to study either alone or with others. Since I'm a hands-on learner, the simulation labs help me the most. They give us different scenarios and make us act as the nurses. We really have to think on our feet; it's preparing me for real life." Mary Claire Markle

"The Community Health Building has given me a chance to have my nursing classes under one roof and allowed me a place to study quietly or collaborate with others. It has also allowed me to meet other nursing students and faculty that I would normally not have seen. I am very thankful that this building has opened a door to networking and life-changin opportunities for me." Cordelia Taylor

Designed using the State of Tennessee’s Sustainable Design Guidelines (with a focus on preserving our natural resources and protecting the health and well-being of occupants and visitors) so the building meets or exceeds minimum standards established by recognized sustainable and energy efficient design organizations such as LEED®, Green Globes®, and Energy Star®.

Significance of the Site: Kennedy General Hospital opened at the intersection of Park and Getwell on January 26, 1943 and was named for the late Brigadier General James M. Kennedy, distinguished Army surgeon and veteran of both the Spanish-American War and World War I. Three years after opening, the hospital grew to be the largest Army general hospital in the nation. Kennedy had an emergency capacity of 5,300 beds and a peak of 6,000 patients in June and July, 1945. At the height of World War II in 1944, Army hospitals around the nation were filling with thousands of seriously wounded soldiers. More than 40,000 soldiers had been treated at Kennedy, all transported by train from the Normal Depot at the Memphis State College campus. Duty personnel included 200 officers, 400 nurses and over 1,200 enlisted men and women in service. One of the greatest services to be initiated at Kennedy that year was the Reconditioning Program through which convalescing patients were retrained and reconditioned for return to duty through planned exercises and athletics and by the constructive use of leisure time in educational pursuits.