Dearborn-based Oakwood Healthcare Inc. and the University of Michigan-Dearborn will transform a vacant Dearborn building into a state-of-the-art learning center housing acclaimed clinical and educational programs for kids, families and future teachers.

OHI purchased the former UAW/Ford Dearborn West Family Service and Learning Center, a 38,000-square-foot building located on Rotunda near Oakwood Boulevard in Dearborn, last year.

Under the move announced last week, the building will house Oakwood's Program for Exceptional Families, which provides numerous services and oversees the care of children with multiple disabilities and their families. UM-Dearborn's Child Development Center also will move into the space, allowing for larger enrollment and expanded program opportunities for children and their families, as well as for university students in teacher preparation programs.

Oakwood and UM-Dearborn entered into a collaboration agreement in December 2006, which focused on building a comprehensive, long-term relationship to support each other's missions for education, clinical care, research and service to the community.

The building will also house Oakwood's clinical learning center, designed to enhance the skills and preparation of front-line caregivers throughout the Oakwood system.

UM-Dearborn's Child Development Center serves preschool and kindergarten children and their families in a program that also serves as a model teacher preparation and child-study facility for the University's School of Education, according to Professor Mary Trepanier-Street, director of the program.

"Working together with Oakwood and its Program for Exceptional Families will broaden the opportunities for our students and faculty members," she said. "The new facility is not just a better space for both of our programs, but a genuine manifestation of our commitment to work together to provide better care for all children, not just those in our programs, but those who will benefit from the research we will be able to do, and from the education and service our graduates will provide to children in the generations to come."

The Oakwood Healthcare System serves residents over a 500-square-mile area and operates four acute care hospitals, several health centers and a vast number of specialty services, including four centers of excellence. More than 1,300 physicians, representing nearly every medical, surgical specialty and subspecialty, are affiliated with OHS. The organization serves more than 1.2 million people in 29 communities.

More at www.oakwood.org

UM-Dearborn has more than 8,700 students and 500 faculty members offering undergraduate and professional degrees in the liberal arts and sciences, engineering, management, education and public administration.