By Sarah Knieff, Republican Eagle (Red Wing) – March 17, 2022
Marsha Danielson is the president of MSC Southeast. She said of the lab, “It’s a state-of-the-art hospital simulation center, so it really mimics a hospital wing. It includes private patient rooms, (with) a nursing station, a control room.”
MSC Southeast currently has a simulation lab, but it needs to be updated. The federal funding will ensure that students are trained in rooms that reflect the health care facilities in which they will work after graduation.
Danielson added that it is important for students to understand the technology and software they will be using upon graduation so they can “hit the ground running.”
During the initial phases of constructing this bill in 2021, every member of the House of Representatives was asked to submit 10 community projects from their district for funding consideration.
Rep. Angie Craig queried people in the district.
“Instead of just putting in a project from a member of Congress, we went down, out to our communities to obviously our educational institutions, leaders in the district; we went to our city councils, we went to our mayors, we went to our county commissioners, we went to our local police departments,” she said.
Craig selected the nursing simulation lab as one of her 10 projects.
“Health care continues to be one of those areas where we have to invest in greater Minnesota,” said Craig.
Along with aiding those in the field of health, Danielson and Craig hope that this project will provide more jobs for the local workforce.
According to Danielson, MSC Southeast has the capacity to graduate 80 practical nursing students and 120 registered nursing students every year.
“Our goal is… to get to full capacity,” she said.
This lab will provide assistance to the workforce outside of the college. Danielson said that the lab can be used by emergency medical teams, firefighters, certified nursing assistants and other members of the local workforce for ongoing training and practice.
President Biden signed the spending bill into law March 15 after it passed the House of Representatives on March 9 and the Senate March 10.
In a news release after Biden signed the bill, Danielson said, “Projections indicate an ever-increasing need for trained nursing professionals across southeast Minnesota.”
There is not yet a timeline in place for the construction and opening of the new nursing lab.
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