The Board of Regents on Friday approved the University of Nebraska 2011-2013 biennial capital construction budget that prioritizes a new facility for the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing Lincoln Division. The budget request will be submitted to the governor on Sept. 15.
The project’s importance has been recognized by not only the board, but the legislature and governor as $87,500 was funded for planning in 2008. The estimated cost of the project is $16.3 million.
The facility will be located in Lincoln just north of the UNMC College of Dentistry at 40th & Holdrege streets and east of the Maxwell Arboretum on the east campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The project design and construction, expected to take about two-and-a-half years, are dependent on approval of funding by the legislature and the governor.
The new facility will expand the college’s educational offerings to address emerging student demands, UNMC’s research and Nebraska’s workforce needs. It will help the college prepare more nurses with bachelor’s degrees, meet increasing student demand, and reduce the nursing shortage in Nebraska. It also will help attract and prepare more nurses with master’s and doctoral degrees in specialty areas, as well as for leadership and faculty positions.
UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., said the facility will serve the community of Lincoln and beyond. “We’re delighted the Board of Regents approved this investment in improving the health of Nebraska through world-class nursing education. It will make a lasting, positive impact on Nebraska. We are fortunate to have the regents’ support and the support of the university and community to make this important project happen.”
Each year, the Lincoln Division receives many more qualified applicants than it can admit to its bachelor of science in nursing program. It can only admit about 40 to 50 percent a year – about 80 qualified applicants. A majority of graduates are employed in the Lincoln area.
By 2020, with the new building, the college will be admitting about 64 more qualified student applicants. Seven faculty and six researchers also will be added.
The multi-storystructure will contain 45,525 gross square feet and would increase educational space by about 80 percent over the current facility. It will feature classrooms and class labs with advanced teaching technology, student and faculty interaction areas, faculty offices, and space for nursing research programs.
“We are very pleased that the regents and university president made the construction of this facility a priority,” said Sarah Thompson, Ph.D., UNMC College of Nursing associate dean for academic programs. “This facility will enable our Lincoln Division to expand enrollment and programs and give faculty and students a 21st century teaching, learning and research environment.”
Nebraska, like other states across the country, is in the midst of an increasing demand for nurses to fill a shortage that is expected to intensify as baby boomers age and the need for health care grows.
Established in 1974, the Lincoln Division employs 32 faculty and six staff. Annual enrollment is 261 students — 195 bachelor’s degree candidates, 62 master’s degree candidates and four doctoral candidates. Since 2005, faculty, students and staff have been temporarily located two blocks from the main UN-L campus in the Commerce Court Building, 1230 O St.
Prior to location in the Commerce Court Building, the Lincoln Division was located in Benton and Fairfield Halls on the UNL campus. The space, originally a residence hall, and later minimally modified for offices and classrooms was inadequate for educational purposes. By 2005, deferred maintenance and dated air and heating systems made the facilities no longer adequate for 21st century teaching and learning.
Co-location of the UNMC College of Nursing Lincoln Division and UNMC College of Dentistry will enable each college to share classroom space and auditoriums as well as provide dental students with labs for teaching clinical skills such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation. It also will enable sharing of instructional and communication technology and information technology staff.
The UNMC College of Nursing, based in Omaha, has divisions in Lincoln, Kearney, Scottsbluff and a division will open in Norfolk in August. One half of Nebraska’s bachelor’s prepared nurses are graduates of the UNMC College of Nursing.
As the state’s only academic health science center, UNMC is on the leading edge of health care. Breakthroughs are possible because hard-working researchers, educators and clinicians are resolved to work together to fuel discovery. In 2009, UNMC’s extramural research support topped $100 million for the first time, resulting in the creation of 3,600 jobs in Nebraska. UNMC’s academic excellence is shown through its award-winning programs, and its educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution. Through its commitment to education, research, patient care and outreach, UNMC and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, have established themselves as one of the country’s leading health care centers. UNMC’s physician practice group, UNMC Physicians, includes 550 physicians in 50 specialties and subspecialties who practice primarily in The Nebraska Medical Center. For more information, go to UNMC’s Web site at www.unmc.edu.