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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 19 J U N E 2 4 , 2 0 2 4 F O C U S H I G H E R E D U C A T I O N / P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T e design process is underway and it's expected that construction could begin by this fall, with a projected opening by spring 2025. Game-changer e current nursing facility is in leased space at the Augusta Civic Center. It includes a nursing suite of about 8,000 square feet with a simulation laboratory that has been upgraded in recent years. e Capital Center will provide about 12,000 square feet. "We've made do at the Civic Center," says Henry. "But this will be a game-changer for the faculty and the way they teach and for the students and the way they learn." A big part of the nursing program is training on high-tech patient simulators that are getting more sophisticated all the time. Simulation labs include real clinical gear, robotic, full-body simulators, simulation- specific monitoring, wireless controllers and audio- visual equipment. e Capital Center will have three such labs — an intensive care unit room, a labor and delivery room and a medical surgical room — providing more training opportunities to run at one time rather than having to cycle students through. "Right now we can only run one at a time," says Shannon Gauvin, director of the UMA's nursing pro- gram. "We'll be able to cycle through more sections of classes, which illustrates how it will help increase enrollment." ere will be three larger health assessment skills labs with 16 additional bed stations, and additional spaces including a medication room designed to simulate health care medication, a virtual reality lab, debrief rooms, support space, equipment storage, a large classroom and collaboration space. Flexible programming Gauvin and her full-time faculty worked out require- ments for the new location. at included the sim labs, debriefing rooms, faculty offices, control rooms, equip- ment storage and collaboration space. Maine's nursing shortage is projected to grow to 2,700 nurses by next year. Increased nursing enroll- ment is needed to help mitigate Maine's current and projected nursing shortage. Nurses are more important than ever in Maine, as the oldest state in the nation, says Gauvin. ey provide critical care not just in hospitals and health care centers, but in nursing homes, schools and communities. e Capital Center, she says, will allow UMA "to provide high-quality, hands-on clinical train- ing including in simulated settings to help more students cultivate the skills necessary to facilitate positive patient outcomes and graduate ready for a successful career in nursing." e expansion is partly due to UMA's flexibility in how it offers the program, says Gauvin. at includes part-time students and older students who work or have families. To accommodate distance learning, UMA has satellite locations in Ellsworth, Rockland, Brunswick and Rumford. e school also has a col- laborative partnership with UMaine Farmington. SALES@WAREBUTLER.COM Ware-Butler will supply products to earthwork and concrete jobs, roads/ bridges/construction jobs, grow businesses, storage units, livestock farms, health centers and commercial buildings of all types, infrastructure projects such as sand-salt sheds and municipal buildings, etc. WAREBUTLER.COM CONTACT US for your non-residential and commercial construction needs statewide in Maine. Put our statewide buying power and experienced sales team to work for you! Fabric / Pipe / Culverts / Styrofoam insulation / Construction lumber Sheet goods / Millwork / Metal roofing and siding products PRODUCTS OFFERED: AND MORE! C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E »

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