JBU opens new facilty
John Brown University celebrated the completion of the Health Education Building with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday.
The 20,000-square-foot building will house the university’s new nursing program, according to a press release. The college’s 40 nursing students will begin classes in the building on Aug. 24. The school has an additional 68 students taking the pre-nursing track.
The Health Education Building is part of JBU’s Campaign for the Next Century. The university broke ground on the $6 million facility almost exactly a year ago,
on Aug. 6, 2015.
The new building includes three classrooms, four exam rooms with computer-operated, interactive mannequins that simulate urgent care scenarios, two health assessment labs, a computer lab, offices and study lounges. The building will also house the Broadhurst Street Medical Center, operated by Community Physicians Group, which will serve JBU students and staff members, as well as the general public.
The clinic will be staffed by CPG medical providers and will initially be open for limited hours, with plans to eventually be open full time, according to Dr. George Benjamin, who spoke during the ceremony.
Benjamin said CPG has had a long relationship with JBU and is looking forward to a future with an even closer relationship between the two organizations. He congratulated the university for their foresight in opening the nursing school and said there has never been a great need for well trained nurses.
“It’s an exciting time to be in medicine,” Benjamin said.
After the ceremony, guests toured the new building and had a chance to interact with patient simulator mannequins, including a pregnant woman who delivers a baby, an infant, a child and several adults. Students will be able to practice urgent care scenarios with the simulators, which are computer controlled. The mannequins breath, have a pulse and can be packed with bodily fluids.
Ellen Odell, director of the nursing program, said the nursing program has been a long time dream of many people. She thanked the community and JBU officials for their support of the program.