The Kramer School of Nursing at 糖心vlog视频 will host a groundbreaking ceremony for its new addition at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 28.
The new structure will connect with the current nursing school building at N.W. 27th Street and Blackwelder Avenue.
The additional space, according to nursing school Dean Marvel Williamson, is necessary because of the program鈥檚 rising enrollment and the nation鈥檚 rising demand for nurses.
鈥淲e鈥檝e seen a 382 percent growth in enrollment over the past few years,鈥� Williamson noted. 鈥淏ecause we accept all qualified applicants and let them begin without waiting on a list, it was just a matter of time before we outgrew our current building. That鈥檚 good news 鈥� with the country鈥檚 severe shortage of nurses, we hope to enroll even more.鈥�
The building will add 50,000 square feet of space with three stories. Most of the new space will be used for classrooms and labs. The building will have 10 classrooms, six seminar rooms and three labs. The labs will include mock hospital rooms where students can practice their skills in a simulation setting, Williamson said.
The project will cost approximately $8.5 million, most of which has already been raised through grants from the Inasmuch Foundation, St. Anthony Hospital/SSM Health Care and donations from various foundations and individuals. Herman Meinders and Ladonna Kramer Meinders, whose names already grace the OCU business school and current nursing school, returned to support the university鈥檚 latest endeavor with a grant through the Meinders Foundation.
