Trends In Education
EDUCATION
101
and build a workforce for the future. According to college
officials, nearly all of its nursing graduates go on to work in
hospitals and clinics.
PLANS FOR CENTER
Moore’s plan for spending part of the endowment soon
became clear.
On the first year anniversary of receiving Scott’s largesse,
he launched plans to expand the nursing program by creating
new state-of-the-art classrooms, labs and a simulation center
at the Pruitt Campus in Port St. Lucie.
“Health care touches all of us,” Moore explains. “What
better way to take an exemplary program, coupled with
somebody’s challenged statement to do something for the
greater good and make it happen. These dollars are precious.
The cost to expand these programs is not inconsequential. We
need the physical space, we need the technical accouterments
to help train these students to the highest level of readiness.”
Construction for the new facility began in January and
is scheduled to open in the fall 2023. The popular nursing
school is capped at 300 annually and the expansion will
increase enrollment to 600.
“We know that there is a need for nurses and we also know
that we have a lot of students who want to go into nursing,”
Patricia Gagliano, dean of nursing, says. “The expansion
provides us the opportunity to increase enrollment and to
graduate more students and meet the workforce needs of
the community. By expanding our programs, the quality of
health care in our region increases exponentially.”
Nurses are the frontline
providers and the backbone of
America’s health care system.
Educating and preparing them
to work in the medical field
today is no small venture and
has become sophisticated and
high tech. To keep up with the
latest advances, the new nursing
school will feature a highfidelity
simulation center that
replicates a real-life nursing
unit in a hospital.
At the center, students will
MOLLY BARTELS
train in a variety of medical
President Timothy Moore has set
Indian River State College on a
specialties including labor and
mission to expand its nursing
delivery, pediatrics, surgery,
program by fall semester 2023.
ICU, emergency medicine and
behavioral health. Here they will hone a wide range of clinical
skills on lifelike simulation mannequins and get hands-on
experience before caring for patients in a real-world health
care setting. Students will interact and work as nurses at the
bedside under the direct supervision of the faculty.
“It expands our teaching modalities,” Gagliano explains.
“The simulation center provides us the opportunity to create
scenarios that are high risk, but may not be seen frequently.”
Some of the planned scenarios students will be taught to
handle include heart attacks, strokes, asthma, post-operative
care, traumas, fractures, code blue and hospice situations. >>
INDIAN RIVER STATE COLLEGE
HARVARD JOLLY ARCHITECTURE
The new nursing school will feature a simulation center that replicates a real-life hospital nursing unit.
MOLLY BARTELS MOLLY BARTELS
Since 1965, IRSC has successfully educated and trained nurses so they can enter the medical workforce on the Treasure Coast.
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