September 7, 2022 – U.S. Congressman Rodney Davis (IL-13) visited the future site of Millikin University’s recently announced nursing simulation laboratory, which is made possible in part through federal funding he secured earlier this year.
As one of the recipients of the Fiscal Year 2022 Community Project Funding (CPF), Millikin has received a $2 million grant to begin the first of three phases in an effort to enhance and modernize the School of Nursing’s facilities and technology — specifically, the construction of a simulation lab inside of the existing West Towne Square building. According to Millikin’s President, Dr. Jim Reynolds, these upgrades will be the first step toward creating a collaborative space for students to learn and engage with the community at large.
“One of our goals is to reach out to the community and partner with them — try to be more of a good neighbor to Decatur,” Reynolds said. “I think this project will help us do that.”
The space, which will contain obstetric and pediatric simulation labs, a health assessment lab, collaborative learning spaces, and debriefing rooms, will bring all of the School of Nursing’s faculty and students under one roof. Students will learn basic skills as well as how to treat high-risk and low-volume conditions — those that they might not see in a hospital — according to Elizabeth Gephart, associate professor with the School of Nursing.
Congressman Rodney Davis, a Millikin alum, stated that he is proud that taxpayers’ dollars are returning to enhance the quality of Millikin’s innovative nursing instruction — something that he has been seeking to do throughout his time serving in Congress as a whole.
“This is a great opportunity to combine my love of Millikin University with the opportunity to put the money that I could direct — your tax dollars — back to work right in our communities,” Davis said. “Once we have an agreement on spending, I believe it’s my job to bring your tax dollars back to benefit our area.”
Davis also emphasized the impact that the nationwide nursing shortage is having upon the healthcare system at large, asserting that this project will encourage current nurses to become educators within the field, opening more slots for the next generation of students to learn.
“That’s what a facility like this is going to do: it’s going to attract the best and the brightest educators, and it’s also going to attract the best and the brightest students,” according to Davis. “I’m glad we were able to provide the first investment in making sure this plan is going to become a reality.”
Construction is slated to begin in November 2022; all three phases of the $4 million project will be completed by summer 2023, just in time for the start of the fall semester. For more information about the lab itself, visit Millikin’s website by clicking here. Further details about Community Project Funding secured by Congressman Davis can be found on his website.
