FVCC nursing center construction on schedule

The Flathead Valley Community College reports that construction of its new nursing center is on schedule and expected to be complete in March.

The 32,000-square-foot Rebecca Chaney Broussard Center for Nursing and Health Science will house FVCC’s practical nursing program, registered nursing program and paramedicine program, in addition to an emergency management program — the only one in Montana.

The facility will also house a physical therapy assistant program, surgical technology program, medical assistant program, anatomy and physiology classes, and a student health clinic that will provide basic health care services at a low cost for students, many of whom do not have health insurance.

The college recognized a need for highly-qualified and well-trained health care workforce to meet Northwest Montana’s growing needs. North Valley Hospital and Kalispell Regional Medical Center, along with other health care providers, estimated at least 350 new associate-level health care positions will be needed by 2015.

FVCC responded by tripling enrollment in its practical nursing program, including initiating a program in Browning; establishing a new emergency management degree program last fall; and launching a new Associate of Science in Nursing program last year.

Ground was broken for the nursing center last year. The Broussard family donated $4 million, and hundreds of community members donated $1.36 million in gifts, pledges and in-kind donations within nine months after the drive began. The nursing center will be the first entirely privately funded building on the FVCC campus.