Students at Saint Luke's College of Health Sciences will begin the 2012 academic semester in a state-of-the-art facility currently under renovation near Saint Luke’s Hospital, the college’s primary teaching location.
Renovations are under way at 624 Westport Road in Kansas City, Mo., in a 39,000-square-foot building within short walking distance of the Saint Luke’s campus at Wornall Road and 44th Street. Completion is expected by year-end in time for spring semester classes, which begin Jan. 17, 2012.
The college has been housed at 8320 Ward Parkway in Kansas City, Mo., since 2003. The new facility will feature one of the area’s most advanced virtual reality simulation centers. The center includes two skills laboratories with opportunities for practice and demonstration of basic and advanced clinical skills and simulated clinical experiences in three hospital settings — trauma/ICU, labor and delivery, and a multi-use hospital room serving varying care scenarios.
Classrooms will be equipped with video technology for interactive and interdisciplinary learning. A learning exchange center will include technology required to teach students in remote locations via teleconference capabilities using live audio and video stream.
“The new facility was designed with the future of nursing in mind,” said Dean Hubbard, president of Saint Luke’s College of Health Sciences. “While technically advanced, it will not replace the important hands-on clinical experience available to students at Saint Luke’s Hospital.”
Enrollment for the 2011-2012 academic year for the College of Health Sciences totals 190 students in the traditional bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degree program and the RN to BSN completion program designed for maximum applicability for the professional nurse. The new space allows for additional growth. “The facility positions us to accommodate a doubling of our enrollment,” said Hubbard. “This is important considering the vast shortage of nurses as baby boomers age and the need for health care grows. The college aspires to reach a combined enrollment of 500 students in multiple disciplines by 2016.”
Faculty and students had a hand in the design. “The new facility will be among the most advanced in the area and an environment we’re certain will be stimulating and inviting to students,” said Hubbard.
Saint Luke’s College of Health Sciences has graduated more than 3,900 nurses since it was founded in 1903. The college offers a BSN degree and boasts a low student-faculty ratio with an average of 97 percent pass rate for the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN), well above state and national averages. It is affiliated with Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City. For more information, visit saintlukescollege.edu.
