When Southwestern Michigan College announced last summer a massive expansion on the Nursing & Health Education Building, most of us would never have known it would be the largest undertaking ever for the Dowagiac institution. Nevertheless, that $9.6-million expansion to the 12,047-square-foot building, will more than double the facility to 29,086 square feet in time for fall 2018 classes.
Since the Michigan Legislature appropriated $4 million, architectural renderings have been developed with bids expected to be awarded in April for a late May groundbreaking while the college readied a $2.6-million major gifts initiative.
SMC President Dr. David Mathews says, “In my 20 years here we have renovated and expanded almost every building on campus.” Most notably, however, Mathews says, “Not once have we gone out seeking public support through donations. We were very successful with our state funding request because of the need for more nurses and health care professionals and because of hard work by our legislators, led tirelessly by Al Pscholka, now state budget director. All area legislators — Aaron Miller, Dave Pagel, Aric Nesbitt, Tanya Schuitmaker and John Proos — voted to make this reality. I can’t think of a single health-care enterprise within 30 miles that isn’t touched by Southwestern Michigan College.”
On campus the O’Leary and Daugherty building projects totaled $8.6 million, while three residence halls cost $7.5 million each, so this project is the largest undertaking to date for the college.
In a press conference Wednesday, Dr. Mathews said, “We provide upward mobility to so many area residents who come here for education and find a good-paying professional job with career advancement so they can provide for their families. That happens through SMC already. It will happen on a larger scale with this.”
The Wednesday meeting including an animated virtual “fly-through” tour of the building, as Mathews told the media, “We’re creating a facility which matches the quality of programs we offer within.” He added, “We’ll continue watching every dollar we spend and we’re careful not to overbuild, but here we’re planning for growth and looking at programs like occupational therapy, physical therapy and respiratory therapy assistants.”
Thomas Jerdon is Chairman of the Board of Trustees at SMC. He expressed gratitude, saying, “I especially want to thank the efforts of Foundation President Ginny Crawford and Executive Director Eileen Toney for their work on this very crucial campaign to create the region’s premier nursing program, which will rival and surpass university-level facilities and instruction.” He says, “Nursing has been a marquee program and this marvelous building will continue this legacy for the foreseeable future.”
New facilities will allow SMC to accept more students into specialized programs such as Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Health Information Technician (HIT), medical assisting, phlebotomy and electrocardiogram (ECG) technician in addition to RNs.
The college will be better positioned to accommodate needs of local hospitals and health care professionals who utilize SMC as a meeting and training site.
A dedicated CNA classroom will house a regional testing center for southwest Michigan and northern Indiana.
The new Nursing and Health Education Building contains eight classrooms, a 20-bed skills lab, four simulation labs replicating hospital rooms, a dedicated medical assisting classroom and student-faculty collaboration areas.
President Mathews says, “Simulation labs nationally are partially replacing clinical instruction in hospitals and nursing homes.” He points out, “In a six-week rotation on a maternity ward, students may see a few children born. If they have simulation robots that can give birth, they can do it over and over again while being tested on all sorts of scenarios. Developing this, our architect, our nursing faculty and academic leadership visited Grand Valley State University, Lansing Community College and others to see how they incorporate clinical simulation into curriculum.”
Each simulation lab contains a SimMan mannequin capable of emulating real-life medical emergencies, such as high blood pressure, vomiting, cardiac arrest and bleeding.
SimMan can be programmed to respond in different ways, complaining of pain or being a difficult patient.
Skills labs provide students a place to practice inserting IVs, checking blood pressure and performing total-body assessments.
The number of nurses leaving the profession exceeds the number entering, with Michigan facing a shortage of 25,725 nurses by the year 2030.
The average age of southwest Michigan nurses is 49, with 41-percent retiring in the next 10 years, according to The Michigan Center for Nursing.
Aging baby boomers need more medical care, so 19-percent RN job growth is forecast by 2022 — for 1.05 million job openings.
Architects Abonmarche Consultants, Benton Harbor, wrap a “u” shape around the existing floor plan. A central “spine” runs north-south from the Briegel administration building through the new glassed atrium facing residence halls.
Architect Arvin Delacruz says, “We’ve designed this building to maximize natural daylight during winter and to provide sunscreen and shade during summer with tinted glass and argon gas-insulated panels.”
The 417 students in nursing and health services represent more than 20-percent of SMC’s total enrollment.
SMC nursing students average 94-percent on the NCLEX, or National Council Licensure Examination — exceeding the national 88-percent average.
One-hundred percent of nursing and health services graduates find employment.
School officials report that during the construction process, SMC Nursing instruction will move to the Mathews Conference Center East.
For more information on how to give to the capital campaign, contact Eileen Toney at (269) 782-1301 or etoney01@swmich.edu.
