Western Governors University (WGU), a private online nonprofit university based in Millcreek, Utah, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on December 13, marking the expansion of its Clinical Learning and Simulation Center at 2051 Greenhouse Road, Suite 375 in Houston. Representatives from Harris Health, Houston Methodist Hospital, Memorial Hermann, Christ Clinic, and Houston Community College, along with media representatives, attended the function and toured the expanded 16,000 square foot learning lab.

The facility, dedicated to advancing nursing education, provides practical hands-on experience for students who attend the online university. The center features pioneering equipment and technology – including lifelike mannequins that can mimic human bodily functions and medical conditions realistically. State-of-the-art equipment allows students to safely conduct simulation-based training while developing teamwork, communication, critical thinking and other core skills.

Not only does the lab provide simulations of a health care institution such as a hospital or clinic – there is a “home health care” scenario as well. Each simulation can be programmed to replicate a variety of health conditions and real-life challenges, including noise, presence of family members and other distractions.

The lab also uses volunteers who – wearing make-up – act as patients facing serious health problems.

“The lab is pivotal in training more nurses and aspiring nursing students to be workforce-ready while leveraging local educational resources,” said the pre-event press release. “With the ribbon cutting, we celebrate the nursing profession, inspire future nurses, support the local economy and community and help tackle the nursing shortage crisis.”

Western Governors University opened its Clinical Learning and Simulation Center in Houston in 2019. “This commitment became even more crucial in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic tested our healthcare systems like never before,” said a spokesperson in a press release prior to the ribbon-cutting event. “WGU continued training nursing students within a secure environment, ensuring they could continue their education amid the many healthcare challenges.”

The facility has grown from an enrollment of 250 in 2019 to more than 900 students today, officials said, and will train nursing students across Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas — aiming to add 3,000 new nurses to the region by 2028.

Additional labs are now open in Kansas City, MO and in Salt Lake City, and two more labs are scheduled to open in Indianapolis and Orlando.

The facilities are part of WGU’s plan to relieve the national nursing shortage, officials said, which is causing a ripple effect of rising healthcare costs and lower quality of life. There is an average of nine RNs in the U.S. for every 1,000 people, but Texas is one of the states that have the lowest nursing ratio, with just seven RNs for every 1,000 people, officials said.