Valencia Nursing and Health Sciences Phase 1
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Nursing and Allied Health programs have been assessed as the primary demand of students in Valencia County, and this construction will formalize the programs as the flagship for the campus. The project is an initial phase of renovation of the Health Sciences building to house an expanded nursing and allied health program including utilities and equipment. These improvements will allow (a) for program expansion, (b) the purchase of additional resources and equipment more conducive to today's learning environment and image, and (c) the inclusion of a community clinic that students can utilize for clinical experiences.
The improvements will allow the Nursing cohort to increase size, from 23 to 28. Traditionally, the program cohort size has been 16, the expansion this year to 23 comes as a result of Nursing Expansion funding that allows us to hire additional faculty, which is necessary to maintain the faculty/student ratio required by our Nursing accrediting bodies. The existing facility was designed to accommodate a cohort size of 16 and increasing the cohort size has had multiple impacts due to the constraints of the facility. Classrooms, simulation labs, and testing spaces will be renovated to accommodate the increased cohort size.
Additional Background
The space currently occupied by the Nursing program is not adequate for growth. The classrooms are small and cramped, and with the program's expansion, the space will limit the ability to have a large cohort class (25). The teaching and lab spaces are currently suitable for the 16 students in a typical cohort, but with the growth of the cohort, the spaces don't have the necessary capacity.
There is also a lack of current office space for additional faculty or staff and additional storage space. A similar situation applies to the Allied Health programs as well. The one space being used by all of the programs was originally designed for the EMS program, and works well for that scenario; however, it has also been used out of necessity for Nursing Assistants, Personal Care Attendants, Medical Assistants, and Phlebotomy. Those programs need their own, specialized space. Additionally, the current spaces do not allow for student learning/lobby areas where they can meet with professors in between classes, nor are there any office spaces for the Allied Health faculty. Structurally, the current space is holding up, and upgrades and refurbishment would serve to house other programs in the future.
Total GO Bond Request $1 million
