Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center’s School of Nursing began construction on a $12 million annex to its Abilene, Tex. facility last week, according to the Abilene Reporter-News and other local sources.
The Abilene Reporter-News said construction of the new nursing school, which will attach to Texas Tech’s School of Pharmacy, should be complete by early 2013.
Workers broke ground last Monday, the Reporter-News said.
According to the Reporter-News, the new site’s clinical simulation center will feature interactive mannequins for students to practice on.
Texas Tech officials hope the major facility upgrade will help the school accommodate more nurses as the nation’s need for quality health care grows. The new building will allow the university’s nursing school to increase its student base from 77 to as many as 200 by 2015, according to the Reporter-News, which also said the school faces a difficult challenge in recruiting more faculty members.
Hendrick Medical Center, which works with Texas Tech to develop new talent, will help with the construction of the new building, the Reporter-News said.
