$1M Grant Funds New Huntsville Hospital Calhoun Nursing Simulation Lab

On Monday, Gov. Kay Ivey presented a $1 million grant that will enable Huntsville Hospital to build a new nursing simulation lab at Calhoun’s Huntsville campus. The lab represents the final piece to establish a new nursing program at that campus, which will be similar to the program at the Decatur campus. enewscourier shared the news:

A recently announced partnership between the state of Alabama, Huntsville Hospital System and Calhoun Community College should result in the school producing more registered nurses in the future.

Huntsville Hospital System CEO David Spillers said he was grateful to Ivey for providing the funding for the project. He described the announcement as “perfectly timed” for the region.


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“The need for more nurses is significant across the country,” Spillers said. “This is especially so in areas that are growing like Huntsville and the Tennessee Valley.”

Dr. Jim Klauber, president of Calhoun, said his school and the Huntsville Hospital System already enjoy “a very successful partnership.” For example, the hospital provides clinical training slots that are filled by Calhoun’s nursing students, some of which have been hired by the hospital system.

Klauber said the fall launch of the new nursing program at Calhoun’s Huntsville campus would create 48 new slots by 2020, which represents an increase of 20 percent.

“We value our partnership and see this exciting, new initiative as an extension of this relationship as the Hospital and College work together to help fill our community’s growing demand for highly-trained and qualified nurses,” Klauber said.


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Bret McGill, dean of Health Sciences at Calhoun and a member of the Limestone County School Board, said Calhoun often has to turn nursing students away because of space and clinical limitations.

“This new initiative will now allow us to open up additional spaces in the program as we work toward meeting the area’s nursing shortage,” he said.

Hospital and school officials estimated the cost of building and furnishing the nursing simulation lab at $2.5 million. The $1-million grant from the Alabama Capital Improvement Trust Fund will be used toward the construction of the lab.

Huntsville Hospital will provide the balance of the funding and will oversee the construction project in coordination with Calhoun staff. Ongoing costs for clinical faculty and facility operating expenses will be Calhoun’s responsibility.

Officials are hopeful the project at Calhoun’s Huntsville campus can be ready to accept students by August of this year. Read the full article on enewscourier.com.


Today’s article was guest authored by John W. Hughes Jr., President at Alabama Modeling and Simulation Council (AMSC).

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