The University of North Carolina Wilmington broke ground Thursday, Oct. 23, for a new nursing building that will be a key component in the state's efforts to address the critical nursing shortage. The facility, scheduled to open Fall 2010, will provide space to accommodate larger numbers of faculty and students, and will be equipped with the cutting edge technology and state-of-the-art resources required to prepare highly skilled health care professionals.
At the ceremony, Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo said the process of getting to this groundbreaking has been a challenging experience, but that the journey being made is critical to the future of healthcare in the region and state.
"Every hospital, clinic and healthcare facility across North Carolina needs more nurses," she continued. "To prepare them, every nursing program in our state needs more nurse educators. This 75,000-square-foot building is a big part of UNCW's commitment to answer our state's call to action."
DePaolo thanked the General Assembly for appropriating $30.1 million in funding for the building, which she said was "an investment in all North Carolinians, because everyone has already needed, or will need, a nurse's care at some point in our lives."
The building will include larger classrooms to accommodate more students, offices and research areas to attract and retain the highest quality faculty, and high-tech labs to operate the School of Nursing's clinical simulation program, which uses lifelike computer-operated patient "simulators" to give student clinical experience before they begin to work with human patients. It will also offer larger meeting spaces for the school's outreach activities, including Camp BONES, which provides preparation to middle and high school students interested in health careers, and Camp Special Time, which provides respite care to military families who have children with special needs.
Sara Price, a senior nursing student and president of the UNCW Student Nursing Association, also spoke at the ceremony. During her years as a nursing student, she has attended classes and labs in numerous buildings across campus while the School of Nursing has occupied temporary quarters in Friday Annex.
"This new will reflect the high quality of nursing education that students receive at UNCW," she said.
Susan Pierce, interim dean of the School of Nursing, said the university's responsibility to the citizens of North Carolina is to prepare the best possible nurses, facilitate the best possible nursing research and apply the latest nursing knowledge to improve the health of the populations it serves.
"This new facility, with its state-of-the-art classrooms, simulation labs and research capabilities, will assure the learning environment to promote 21st century professional education and practice," she said.
Nursing Building Facts
- Total project budget: $30.1 million
- Architect: BJAC Designs of Charlotte
- Project: The 75,000 square-foot structure will house the School of Nursing and will include state-of-the-art patient simulation labs, classrooms, faculty offices and research areas, seminar rooms and meeting areas
- Location: Parking Lot T at the corner of Reynolds Drive and Cahill Drive, across the street from Dobo Hall
- Site preparation scheduled to begin in December 2008, with visible signs of construction beginning January 2009
- Building is expected to open Fall 2010
Media contact:
Dana Fischetti, media relations manager, 910.962.7259 or fischettid@uncw.edu
Photo captions:
Groundbreaking 1: Dignitaries join Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo and the UNC Wilmington Board of Trustees as they tip the teal sand during a groundbreaking ceremony for the new nursing building on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008. (UNCW/Jamie Moncrief)
Groundbreaking 2: Nursing students collect handfuls of teal sand following the ceremonial groundbreaking for UNC Wilmington's new nursing building on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008. (UNCW/Jamie Moncrief)
