Medical Center Health System has committed to a $5 million investment over a 10-year period in Odessa College’s new $39.7 million Wood Health Sciences Building. OC will name the first floor of the 83,000 square foot, four-story building the “Medical Center Health System Simulation Hospital”.
With plans to break ground in late 2021 and open by Fall 2023, the simulation hospital will span the entire first floor of the Wood Health Sciences Building and will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology to simulate patient care scenarios. The simulation hospital will provide a collaborative environment for all health sciences students that will include the following suites: emergency room, operating room, labor and delivery, nursery, physical therapy and radiological technology. The simulation hospital will also include five high simulation patient rooms, five doctors’ office simulation rooms and 10 basic simulation patient rooms.
“We are excited to expand our partnership with Odessa College,” said Russell Tippin, President and CEO, Medical Center Health System. “We are honored to have our name on the Health Sciences Center at OC. This partnership not only strengthens the bond our two organizations have, but also increases healthcare awareness and education right here in the Permian Basin.”
The simulated learning environment will enable students enrolled in certain OC health sciences programs to complete 50 percent of their required clinical hours by caring for simulation mannequins in the simulation hospital and 50 percent in a hospital or nursing home setting.
“The Medical Center Health System Simulation Hospital will change the face of healthcare in the Permian Basin with the advanced learning opportunities provided in this state-of-the-art simulation hospital,” Dr. Greg Williams, Odessa College President, said. “This collaborative learning environment will give OC health sciences students the opportunity to experience the inter-disciplinary work that is necessary to care for patients in a hospital setting. Our students will be more prepared than ever to graduate and go right to work in area hospitals.”
The new Health Sciences Building’s additional space and technology will allow OC to add more programs and accept more students into the School of Health Sciences and continuing education programs. As a direct result, this will enable OC to produce a minimum of 171 more highly skilled health sciences graduates/earned certificates per semester, which is up from the current number of 269 graduates.
The building will include an additional registered nursing program and licensed vocational nursing program, along with the following specialties to fill the growing number of job openings in the Permian Basin:
School of Health Sciences
- Registered Nurses
- Licensed Vocational Nurses
- Surgical Technologists
- Physician Therapist Assistants
- Radiological Technologists
- Emergency Medical Technicians
- Respiratory Therapists
- Dental Hygienists
- Health Information Managers
Continuing Education
- Phlebotomists
- Clinical Laboratory Assistants
- Dental Assistants
- Medical Assistants
- Certified Nurse Aids
- Massage Therapists
- Medication Aids
- Pharmacy Technicians