The building houses Union Hospital's Richard G. Lugar Center for Rural Health, the West Central Indiana Area Health Education Center (AHEC), and portions of the Indiana University School of Medicine - Terre Haute, and Indiana State University College of Health and Human Services.
The center is owned by Indiana University, Indiana State University, and Union Hospital. It brings to fruition the institutions' 30-year vision to train nurses, medical students, and family practice physicians in a facility that allows sharing of resources. It has grown to incorporate several health and human service occupations including social work, applied medicine and rehabilitation, health sciences, and kinesiology, recreation, and sport. All three owners had outgrown their existing spaces for these programs, and modern facilities were necessary to continue to incorporate innovative technology into the programs and growth.
BSA LifeStructures designed the facility with each partner having an equal say throughout the process. The two-story 30,000-square-feet facility includes clinical examination rooms, 150-seat lecture hall, classrooms and conference rooms equipped with technology.
In 1999, the State Legislature provided $2.5 million with an appropriation to the Indiana University School of Medicine - Terre Haute. Union Hospital's Richard G. Lugar Center for Rural Health received $2.5 million in grant funding from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). ISU contributed $1.25 million from funds received from the sale of its Nursing Clinical Education Building to Union Hospital. The center was named after Morris Landsbaum, a Terre Haute developer and supporter of educational and medical services who bequeathed approximately $2.7 million for construction and an endowment for continuous technology updates. A number of donors have provided additional funds for the facility and equipment. The total project cost was slightly more than $8 million.