The Mercy College of Nursing and Health Sciences of Southwest Baptist University this week opened a new nurse training center in Springfield.
The 15,000-square-foot center, a former DirectBuy of the Ozarks building at 1265 E. Lark St. around the block from the Springfield campus, includes seven learning resource center rooms, simulation labs and additional classrooms. It’s designed to mimic functions at Mercy, such as bedside manor and procedures, as well as use of electronic medical records.
“We have been working with Mercy for the past 20 years and are pleased at the growth and success of our nursing program within this structure,” SBU President C. Pat Taylor told 160 attendees during the Sept. 20 opening, according to a news release issued yesterday afternoon.
The school graduates 250 nurses per year, with 80 percent of them going on to work for Mercy. While officials say that isn’t enough to fill Mercy’s needs, the new training center is expected to help boost numbers.
“In order to train them, we needed a better training center,” college Dean Kezia Lilly told Springfield Business Journal for the Sept. 19 article, “
Stakeholders find fixes for nursing shortage.”
School officials say the purchase of the building and new equipment, as well as the renovation of the former DirectBuy building, represent a $4 million investment. GHN Architects Engineers designed the center, with contractor work by Williams Construction.
SBU and Mercy’s efforts are among a handful of entities locally working to address the Ozark Workforce Investment Area’s nursing shortage. A report by the Missouri Hospital Association last year found an estimated need of 117 registered nurses per year through 2022 in the seven-county area.
CoxHealth, Missouri State University and Ozarks Technical Community College are among those developing solutions.
