The Nevada Sagebrush

The details

The William N. Pennington Health Sciences Building is set to:

• start construction in early 2010
• open in fall 2011
• be located east of the Pennington Medical Education Building and southeast of the Center for Molecular Medicine, which is currently under construction
• increase the Orvis School of Nursing capacity to 300 students
• expand the School of Medicine capacity to 100 students entering each year
• teach nurses and doctors together

Building facilities will include:

• two 200-seat lecture halls
• a large anatomy and physiology lab
• a multidisciplinary wet/dry lab
• three laboratories with computerized patient mannequins that simulate real symptoms and reaction to treatment
• 14 patient rooms for educational role-play
• four large and 10 small group rooms for study

The money

• $34 million from the state approved by the 2007 and 2009 Nevada State Legislature
• $10 million from the William N. Pennington Foundation
• $2.5 million from Nell J. Redfield Foundation
• $1 million from Thelma B. and Thomas P. Hart Foundation

Construction is set to begin on a new health science building at the University of Nevada, Reno. Artist's rendition.

Pre-nursing student Kelly Sullivan is patiently waiting to hear back about the nursing school application he submitted a few weeks ago. With a grade point average on the edge of the typical cut-off, he said he’s unsure if he’ll be accepted in mid-October.

Sullivan is one of about 480 pre-nursing students at the University of Nevada, Reno. Another 400 pre-nursing majors attend other Nevada schools. And although the state is ranked 46th in the number of nurses employed compared to the population, the Orvis School of Nursing can only accept one of every 10 of its applicants, John McDonald, vice president of the Division of Health Sciences, said.

“First, there’s a huge need in state for health care professionals,” McDonald said. “Secondly, there’s a need from students for education.”

The William N. Pennington Health Sciences Building, set to open in 2011, is expected to bring relief to the state’s health care professional shortage as it will allow the Orvis School of Nursing to double its enrollment to 300 students. The University of Nevada School of Medicine will increase its incoming class size from 62 to 100 students each year as well.

Not only will the 59,000-square foot building house more students, but the facility will allow doctors and nurses to be trained together, something many medical professionals consider innovative.

Atul Gawande, a Harvard medical professor and director of the World Health Organization’s Global Challenge for Safer Surgical Care, said teamwork in hospitals increases patient care and survival rates for surgeries exponentially.

Gawande said he expected to visit Nevada to have fun and gamble, but instead found the future of medicine in the plans for the William N. Pennington Health Sciences Building.

“Thank you for showing me the future,” Gawande said in Reno at the UNR Foundation dinner to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the medical school last week.

“The real important part of that is it’s the first time in Northern Nevada that we are combining doctor and nurse health care education,” Ole Thienhaus, the dean of the UNR medical school, said.

For Sullivan, a pre-nursing student who has worked at the Carson Tahoe Regional Healthcare hospital for more than a year, he notices a lack of cooperation between health care professionals.

“I see the interaction between doctors and nurses and it’s usually nonexistent,” Sullivan said.

Patsy Ruchala, director of the nursing school, said the benefits doctors and nurses get from training together will enhance patient care.

“Our health care system is really dependent on our professionals working together and working well together. Right now, our doctors and nurses don’t have the opportunity to work together until they are in the work setting,” she said. “They should be able to anticipate the knowledge base of each other’s profession, so they can meld the professions together and provide total care to the patients.”

The building, which will sit east of the Pennington Medical Education Building, will feature joint simulation labs, two lecture halls, 14 patient rooms and study space. The building also meets “green” standards, which include a floor plan to increase natural daylight.

“This new building is a dream come true for the Orvis School of Nursing and the School of Medicine so we can work together,” Ruchala said. “It will bring much-needed resources, integration of our facilities and it is a great vision and adventure for all of us.”

Jessica Fryman can be reached at jfryman@nevadasagebrush.com.

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