The ribbon was cut on Monday morning for the Mount Airy College Center for Health Education. The facility, a partnership between Frederick Community College, Carroll Community College and Howard Community College, will train students for health care careers.

"This has been a day that's been long in coming," said Senator Barbara Mikulski, who helped cut the ribbon on the new center. She worked with other members of the Maryland Congressional Delegation to secure a $1-million federal grant to help pay for the center. "Now, this is called  an 'earmark,'" she said. "We don't have them anymore because some of my colleagues didn't do the smart thing. They were going to build a bridge to nowhere. But {Congressmen} Elijah, John {Sarbanes}, {Senators} Barb {Mikulski} and Ben {Cardin} wanted to build a bridge to somewhere."

The facility located 1902 Back Acre Road in Mount Airy will train students to earn associate degrees or certificates in the high-demand field of health care. Already, about 200 students are enrolled for the fall semester.

Congressman Cummings, who also spoke at the ribbon cutting, said the need is there for highly skilled health care workers since Americans are getting older, and they'll need more medical services. "We have an aging population, and the fact is we need more and more people to address our needs," he says, noting that he has an AARP card.

The Center will lease 15,750 square feet of space. Some of the features of this building include three lecture rooms, one computer lab, two allied health labs and two biological science labs.

Officials say the Mount Airy College Center for Health Care Education is a short commute from Frederick, Carroll and Howard Community Colleges. Students from any of the three colleges will pay the same in-county tuition rate for taking any class at the center.

For more information, go to www.mtairycollegecenter.com.