Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Technical Institute considers options for allied health building
SPRINGDALE — The Northwest Technical Institute has until Sept. 29, 2026, to complete construction of new health programs building or risk losing secured funding, the institute’s president said.
The project received $10 million through the federal fiscal year 2024 appropriations bills signed into law March 23, state Rep. Steve Unger, R-Springdale, said during the institute’s Board of Director’s meeting on March 28.
Institute officials met with U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., this past winter, and the senator assured the officials they would receive funding for the project, said Jim Rollins, Northwest Technical Institute president.
The vocational school began talking about the building in 2021 with a projected opening date in 2024.
Over the last three years, construction costs and changes to the institution’s funding plans have delayed the project, according to Rollins.
Originally projected to be 50,000 square feet, the building’s expected cost in 2021 was $10 million. A new estimate in 2022 put the cost at $12 million to $15 million.
Costs increases have necessitated changes in building designs. The current proposed specifications of the building are 44,792 square feet and a cost of $21,562,869.
The school currently has $17 million in firm funding commitments going toward the medical building, Rollins said. He said other financing for the project includes $2 million from the City of Springdale, $500,000 from Washington County, $2.5 million from the Alice L. Walton Foundation and $2 million from the federal fiscal year 2023 omnibus package.
Rollins said the institute is seeking to fund the remaining $5 million by working with the private sector. He said there are alternate designs for a 30,000-square-foot medical building that can be built with the confirmed $17 million.
Kelly Johnson, Northwest Technical Institute Board of Directors secretary, asked during the March meeting if there would be adequate lab space in the smaller design. She also questioned if directors in the medical education programs agreed the space would be sufficient.
The simplified designs do not compromise instruction space and have been reviewed by directors, Rollins said.
Aaron Wright, an Northwest Technical Institute board member, asked if the remaining money needed for the building could be financed in effort to start the project sooner.
Rollins said the institute needs to “have a commitment of funds in hand” to begin the work.
He said a decision of the complete construction scope and cost for the project should be made at the board meeting in June in order to meet the finish date in September 2026 to avoid losing funding.
The school has not yet officially partnered with an architect for the project, and that is another decision that will need to be made at the June board meeting, Rollins said.
MORE SPACE, MORE PROGRAMS
The proposed building is expected to allow Northwest Technical to triple enrollment and add program offerings such as behavioral health technician, medical billing and coding and pharmacy technician.
Debra Walker, director of the institute’s practical nursing department, said the program will benefit from having greater lab space to hold adequate simulation teachings.
Simulation is instruction taught by interacting with computer-controlled mannequins that mimic human reaction to medications and treatment, Walker said. She said the amount of current physical space for the simulation labs don’t accommodate the students comfortably.
Walker said the licensed practical nursing graduates from Northwest Technical are highly sought after. The graduates leaving the institute have a 100% employment rate and secure those roles before graduation. She said their skill and knowledge level are exceptional.
Karina McElfish, a licensed practical nurse and Northwest Technical Institute nursing graduate, said the creation of the new health building will make careers in the medical field more accessible to the people in the region because graduates such as she and her classmates are able to find jobs quickly.
All practical nursing students learn all the skills that a registered nurse would learn, other than central line training. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a central line, also known as a central venous catheter, “is a tube that can be placed in a large vein in the neck, chest, groin, or arm to give fluids, blood, or medications or to do medical tests quickly.”
McElfish said the program was challenging and gave her the tools she needed to be an effective nurse.
MEETING A NEED
“As Northwest Arkansas grows, there is an increasing need for health care professionals, and nurses specifically,” said Pearl McElfish, division director of the University of Arkansas for Medical Services Office of Community Health and Research.
Ryan Cork, executive director of the Health Care Transformation Division at the Northwest Arkansas Council, works with all health care systems in the area and said there is a need for nurses. He said staff is needed in all levels of positions in the health care field, but nurses are particularly in demand.
Cork said that both licensed practical nurses and registered nurses are equally sought out.
Walker said there are accelerated programs for licensed practical nurses to become registered nurses if a graduate wants to expand his credentials.
The institute will continue to work toward closing the health and medical workforce gap in the region, Rollins said. A report by the Arkansas Hospital Association published in 2023 disclosed that the shortage of health care workers is expected to continue over time as needs exceed the available workforce.
“There is a growing need for well-trained medical professionals across our state and Northwest Technical Institute is poised to help address that challenge in Northwest Arkansas. I’m grateful for Dr. Rollins and the entire faculty’s commitment to improving access to care and preparing students to fill in-demand jobs,” Boozman said.
Joe Rollins, workforce development director at the Northwest Arkansas Council, said the creation of more learning space increases the region’s capacity to train individuals needed to fill the available jobs in the medical field.
“Our health care industry is growing, and the development at Northwest Technical Institute is another step forward to more adequately meet the need,” he said.