Half a million dollars is going to Emporia State’s Nursing and Student Wellness Building, thanks to action last month by the Newman Regional Health Board of Trustees.
The funds will develop a Simulation Hospital Suite for nursing students, including an adult care training lab and simulation room, obstetrics simulation training lab, emergency care simulation room, pediatric care simulation room, skills lab, learning commons, classrooms, a conference room and student success center.
Nursing Professor Kari Hess says simulation training is vital for the department and its students.
Construction for the 32,000 square-foot building begins this spring, with the building to open by August 2025. The new facility supplants Cora Miller Hall, which has been the longtime home of the ESU nursing department — with students also using simulated learning methods in various spaces at Newman Regional Health.
Foundation Director and Vice President for University Advancement Shane Shivley says the facility has excited a lot of people connected to ESU.
The Board of Trustees decision is the latest iteration of a better than 100-year partnership between the hospital and Emporia State’s nursing program through funding and clinical training.
