Sage gets $100K grant to expand nursing lab
TROY, N.Y. » The Sage Colleges has received a $100,000 grant from the William Randolph Hearst Foundation for the planned expansion of the Nursing and Health Sciences Simulation Lab located on the Russell Sage College campus.
According to a news release from the college, the money will help to fund the addition of a new simulation lab and control room where nursing faculty can monitor and record nursing students and critique their performance in a safe environment. The facility currently houses classrooms, skills labs and simulation space for Sage nursing students and other health science majors, including those studying physical, occupational and nutrition therapy
“The William Randolph Hearst Foundation is proud to support The Sage Colleges’ Nursing Program,” Alison Yu, a program officer with the Hearst Foundation, said in the release. “As the only nursing program in the Capital Region offering undergraduate, graduate and doctoral nursing degrees, Sage is addressing the critical nursing shortage facing our region, state and country. This highfidelity simulation center will further enhance the education of Sage’s nursing students.”
According to Glenda B. Kelman, chairwoman of the college’s nursing program, the expansion, which will begin within the next year, will create “virtual patient rooms” for education, training and validation of clinical skills, decisionmaking and communication using critical thinking to promote quality patient care. There will also be increased opportunities to enhance interprofessional communication and team building.
The Sage Colleges has a strong tradition of excellence in nursing education. The college’s nursing program in now in its 95th year, with more than 600 students enrolled in undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs, along with 1,500 students enrolled in health sciences and other science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs.
“This generous donation from the William Randolph Hearst Foundation will allow more students, including those in early-level classes, to utilize the lab and will also help them when they begin rotations in a hospital or other clinical settings,” said Sage President Susan C. Scrimshaw, “The impact on student learning and experiences will be significant, and we thank the foundation for making this state-of-the-art project possible.”