Mitchell celebrates Health Sciences ribbon cutting
Mitchell Community College celebrated the ribbon cutting of the Health Sciences Building on Thursday, October 21, 2021.
Constructed where the former Davis Hospital once stood and served the community, the Health Sciences Building continues a legacy of providing healthcare education for Iredell County. Boasting seven classrooms, five labs, three simulation suites–as well as a full-size ambulance simulator–along with multiple meeting rooms and faculty offices, the facility provides a modern hub for the next generation of health care providers to train.
Dr. Ralph Bentley, Mitchell Community College Board of Trustees chair, shared his history with the site–both as a clinical professional and a community member–and praised the College on their dedication to this long-awaited facility. “It took a long time and a lot of thought to build this building,” said Dr. Bentley. “We won’t have to worry about a shortage of nurses and health professionals for a long time with this great building.”
The effort to construct the state-of-the-art facility came through a collaborative partnership over many years. “The fact that the College, the city, and the great county of Iredell all came together to ensure that this building would be built is an outstanding testament to what we can do together and will continue to do together,” noted Mitchell President Dr. Tim Brewer. “We are successful because we work together.”
Linda Wiersch, Dean of Nursing and Health Sciences, shared the value the building has already brought to the College. The opening of the building to classes in the Fall 2020 semester could not come at a more critical time. With the majority of coursework being moved online and in-person classes being interrupted by quarantine requirements, the technology in the Health Sciences Building allowed faculty to continue providing quality instruction and students to continue to learn and engage at a high level whether in-person or remote. In addition, the new simulation suites and labs provided a clinical setting at a time when medical facilities were unavailable.
“Last year, when our students were our students were not allowed to be in the ICU, we ran ICU clinicals right here on campus,“ said Wiersch. Mitchell Associate Degree Nursing student Tracy Massey spoke about the impact the new building has had on students and the program. “The technology has allowed us to become better student nurses,” Massey shared. “This building has become my home away from home.”
Wiersch emphasized the fact that the building supports education across programs and professions. “This building is home not just to Nursing. We have Emergency Medical Science, Paramedic, Paramedic to Associate Degree Nursing, Medical Assisting, Basic Law Enforcement Training, and more,” she noted. “We are now able to engage in interprofessional education.” To learn more about the Health Sciences Building along with training and education opportunities, visit mitchellcc.edu.
