Wilkes University recently received a $350,000 Local Share Account (LSA) grant to cover upgrades to its Clinical Nursing Simulation Center. Administered by the Commonwealth Financing Authority and funded through gaming revenue, LSA grants support projects that improve the quality of life in Pennsylvania.
The $350,000 awarded to Wilkes is part of more than $5.6 million in LSA grants invested in 30 projects covering public infrastructure, community facilities, public safety and economic development initiatives in Luzerne County.
The LSA grant will be added to $500,000 in state funding received earlier this spring and a $750,000 Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grant received in 2024. With this $1.6 million, the University will be able to complete the first two phases of upgrades to its existing Clinical Nursing Simulation Center.
The expansion includes a simulated hospital space and housing rooms equipped with cutting-edge human patient simulators, equipment and supplies.
“This space will provide realistic settings for teaching and competency testing as we prepare nurses to enter a workforce where there is a critical need for baccalaureate-prepared registered nurses,” says Joyce Victor, associate professor of nursing at Wilkes.
These Wilkes nurses will begin their careers ready to deliver exceptional patient care right in our own backyard. The majority of students who graduate from the Passan School of Nursing’s traditional bachelor of science in nursing program and the accelerated baccalaureate nursing program (ABSN) remain in the state.
“Wilkes University would like to thank State Senator Marty Flynn, State Representative Eddie Day Pashinski, Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown and Wilkes-Barre City Council, as well as our entire legislative delegation who have steadfastly supported this project,” says Mike Wood, special assistant to the president. “This funding not only represents support of our nursing program, but support of high-quality patient care in Pennsylvania.”
With the power to place more skilled nurses in a variety of settings from hospitals to homes, Wilkes will help address the nursing shortage in the region and across the state, benefitting students, employers and members of the community.
Deborah Zbegner, dean of the College of Health and Education, is grateful for the LSA grant’s investment in the Wilkes nursing program and its students. “Healthcare is ever changing and state-of-the-art technology is a critical component in the education of our future nursing workforce,” says Zbegner. “Thank you to Michael Wood and our local politicians who have been supportive of our endeavors.”
For more information on programs offered by the Passan School of Nursing at Wilkes University, visit wilkes.edu/nursing.