Southern Nevada college to build $6M health science building

A new health science building is expected to be built at a southern Nevada university after the school’s foundation received $6 million in donations toward the project.

The 73,000-square-foot (6,780-square-meter) facility will be operated by the College of Southern Nevada and Nevada State College through a collaborative effort supporting students seeking a career in healthcare, KSNV-TV reported Tuesday.

The building will support the demand for skilled nurses in southern Nevada with plans to double the number of graduates in nursing, certified nursing assistants, medical office assistants, phlebotomists, lab scientists and technologists, college officials said.

The building would also make room for expansion of the biological science program, with an estimated 20% increase in anatomy, physiology and microbiology courses, officials said.

The state-of-the-art Betty Engelstad School of Health Sciences building is scheduled to open in the fall of 2021.

The money came from donations by community leaders and college employees and a $3 million challenge match given by the Engelstad Foundation, college foundation members said.

“There is a continued need for quality and caring healthcare professionals, and we need to build the infrastructure necessary to train Nevadans for these critical positions,” said Kris Engelstad-McGarry, Trustee of the Engelstad Foundation.