Delaware Technical and Community College has doubled its nursing student enrollment in the 13 years since a state report detailed how to solve Delaware's nursing shortage. Now, the school is adding new facilities to accommodate those students.
A new dental health center in Wilmington, and biotech, food safety, biology and chemistry labs in Dover and Georgetown are now joined by the Stanton campus’ expanded nursing center – a 40,000-square foot, state-of-the-art learning facility.
Recent construction added four nursing labs, clinical simulation space and more classrooms and study areas.
Del Tech president Mark Brainard said the center will help develop qualified candidates for a job field that's growing exponentially.
“Our graduates are job ready on day one. So our facilities really have to replicate the workplace. And for too long we’ve had a nursing program that’s been expanding to meet the workforce needs, but our capital facilities have not been keeping up with that expansion," said Brainard.
Construction on the nursing center began in April 2013 and was completed last August, mainly funded through state and local resources. The facility has already seen a semester’s worth of students inside its walls.
One of those students was Adam Davidson, a recent graduate of Del Tech's accelerated nursing program. He said the new space is preparing students for the future of nursing.
“It does mimic a lot of our environments that we practice in now, shows us the technology, gives us the hardware, the faculty has the expertise," said Davidson. "So when you put all that stuff together, you get a superior quality education and that’s what I was looking for and that’s what I got."