January 2023: Construction On Target
The CNI Design Build Team and College representatives continue to hold weekly meetings to ensure that the work packages and construction processes of this critical project are maintaining momentum. Over the last few weeks the project has hit and completed many noticeable and important milestones.
Milestones
Exterior demolition and substrate identification
RTUs deliver and setting
Interior drywall installation
MDP service upgrade & switchover
Interior door frames & hardware
CNI Nursing Equipment & SIM equipment delivery
Identification & Removal of hazardous materials
About the Center
Saint Joseph’s College received a $1.5 million challenge grant from the Harold Alfond Foundation to support the creation of a new Center for Nursing Innovation – a $5 million program on the Standish campus. In addition, SJC alumna and member of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Jeanne Donlevy Arnold and her husband, Ed Arnold pledged $2 million in response to the Alfond Challenge.
The Saint Joseph’s College Center for Nursing Innovation will encompass on-campus and online nursing education offering:
- Top-notch science and SIM technology
- An increase to Maine's nursing workforce and credentialed faculty through scholarships and a new PhD pathway
- Nursing educational advancement through new or enhanced health care partnerships
The Alfond Foundation challenge grant provides the keystone element of SJC’s planned Center—21st century nursing facilities for SIM and the nursing sciences.
Nursing Crisis and Challenges Nationally and in Maine
The national nursing crisis has been widely analyzed and published. Critical needs are:
Lack of adequate numbers of nurses—including new BSN graduates
Lack of adequate numbers of nurse PhD’s for faculty positions
Lack of flexible, site-specific educational programs for nurses
How Saint Joseph's College will Address the Nursing Crisis
The new Center for Nursing Innovation will include five SIM Laboratories (hospital and home care).
An entire floor dedicated to students’ needs—includes advising offices for student and faculty meetings, a conference room, and a student collaborative learning space.
- Enhancement of Anatomy & Physiology and Microbiology labs used by nursing majors.
- Establishment of a new scholarship fund to benefit first-generation nursing students from Maine.