Baton Rouge Community College celebrated the opening of its new $35 million nursing and allied health facility today with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the Mid City Campus.
The Baton Rouge Community College|Our Lady of the Lake Health Nursing & Allied Health Building is nearly 93,000 square feet, and for the first time, brings together under one roof all the programs in BRCC’s Division of Nursing & Allied Health. This includes the nursing, practical nursing, sonography, surgical technology, phlebotomy and medical assistant programs.
Funded in part by a $12 million donation from Our Lady of the Lake Health, the new buildinghas the capacity to serve 1,500 students, and allows BRCC to add several new programs to the Division of Nursing & Allied Health, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, respiratory care and athletic training.
Louisiana’s and the nation’s growing need for healthcare professionals has created high demand for these types of programs, and the new building will allow BRCC to enroll more students, increase the number of faculty, and help address the nursing and healthcare shortages in the state,the region and the country.
“BRCC is one of the fastest-growing community colleges in the nation, and our healthcare programs are among our largest and most in-demand,” BRCC Chancellor Willie E. Smith, Sr., said. “To meet the needs of our students and regional employers, we needed a new, modern facility. The technology in this building will help make our graduates some of the most prepared in the state and country, and will allow us to better serve the healthcare workforce in our area.We are extremely grateful to Our Lady of the Lake Health, local and state government, and all our donors for turning this dream into a reality.”
The new building features state-of-the-art classrooms and labs with cutting-edge simulation equipment that replicates real-life medical scenarios. It includes simulated hospital and surgical rooms, a home-health-care training space, high-fidelity mannequins that simulate actual patients,and even a fitness center for BRCC students. The goal is to enable students to experience hands-on learning in a realistic environment while enhancing their critical-thinking and decision-making abilities in all the latest patient care techniques.
“As a healthcare leader in the community for over 100 years, FMOL Health and Our Lady of the Lake are honored to help bring this transformative facility to life,” said E.J. Kuiper, President and CEO of FMOL Health. “Together with BRCC, we are committed to preparing the next generation of healthcare professionals who will care for our communities with skill, compassion, and excellence.”
The new building is located on BRCC’s Mid City Campus, adjacent to Florida Blvd. Designedby Chasm Architecture and Mackey Mitchell, with Ratcliff Construction Company serving asgeneral contractor, the building is the first new classroom building on BRCC’s Mid City Campus since 2009.
During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, officials from BRCC and OLOL, along with other community leaders, spoke about the need for this new facility, the shortage of healthcare workers in our state, and the life-changing impact that these nursing and allied health programs have on BRCC’s students and on residents of the Capital region.
