WGU opens Indiana Simulation Center to support regional healthcare workforce

Leavitt School of Health aims to train 1,000 new nurses in Indiana & adjacent states by 2028

The Western Governors University (WGU) Michael O. Leavitt School of Health (LSH) opened a new Clinical Learning and Simulation Center in Indianapolis on April 3, a state-of-the-art facility to train and educate more than 1,000 new registered nurses (RN) in the region by 2028.

The Indiana simulation center will impart clinical education to WGU’s nursing and health sciences students from Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. This investment aims to address the nursing shortage crisis and meet the region’s growing demand for enhanced healthcare outcomes with the addition of new RNs and nurse practitioners (NP) in the regional workforce.

“Through innovative experiences and solutions to bring hands-on learning to the classroom, Western Governors University’s new Clinical Learning and Simulation Center in Indiana will help increase enrollment and employability by embracing technology and ensuring students gain real-life experience that prepares them for their careers ahead,” said Chris Lowery, commissioner for Indiana’s Commission for Higher Education. “This investment in education and innovation will directly strengthen our state’s nursing pipeline, improving healthcare for all Hoosiers. We applaud WGU for its leadership in shaping the future of healthcare and nursing in Indiana.”

WGU’s Indiana simulation center spreads over 16,000 square feet and features advanced high-fidelity medical education simulation equipment across five simulation rooms and two skills labs with 17 patient beds, four patient exam rooms, five student-focused debriefing rooms, and a large multipurpose room for training and teaching.

The center is equipped with lifelike manikins that are patient simulators to provide students with hands-on clinical training as they prepare to enter the healthcare field. The nearly $5 million project reinforces the institution’s commitment to the region and its mission of changing lives for the better by creating pathways to opportunity.

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According to the Indiana Hospital Association, the state needs an additional 5,000 nurses by 2031, and to fulfill this demand, Indiana would need to graduate 1,300 additional nurses per year by 2030. The state’s healthcare providers are under tremendous pressure to provide the required services. The Indiana Chamber also recognizes the lack of nurses as a growing crisis.

“We’re opening the Indiana simulation center to address the regional workforce shortage and support the development of a steady stream of compassionate and competent professionals ready to join the community workforce,” said Anmy Mayfield, LSH vice president and dean for the College of Nursing. “Our high-quality health and nursing programs, offered via the affordable and flexible competency-based model of education, along with this in-person experiential learning facility encourage the development of a patient-centric approach to ultimately yield high patient-outcomes in the region.”

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) reports that more than 65,000 qualified applications (not applicants) were turned away from schools of nursing nationwide in 2023. While AACN mentions that the students submitting these applications may have been accepted and enrolled elsewhere, the report emphasizes that a multitude of reasons stall nurse education, including the lack of infrastructure and faculty. With infrastructural challenges to high-quality nursing education as the backdrop, WGU’s Indiana simulation center is a strategic investment located in the heart of the region to provide face-to-face faculty instruction and clinical training to students within and around their communities.

“The Indianapolis simulation center’s strategic proximity to regional students promotes learning without uprooting lives and thus breaks barriers to in-person, practical education, especially for nontraditional and working students,” said Kimberly Kelly-Cortez, LSH senior associate dean and director of the nursing prelicensure program. “With upskilling and reskilling the healthcare workforce as a prime goal for LSH, we’re opening doors for more students to build and advance their nursing careers and make a difference to the region’s overall health landscape.”

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects a 6 percent expansion of the RN workforce over the next decade, with about 194,500 job openings each year, when nurse retirements and workforce exits are factored into the number of nurses needed nationwide. The BLS also projects a 46 percent growth in the number of NP roles over the next decade, with about 135,000 job openings.

WGU’s LSH is steadily expanding its roster of competency-based health sciences and nursing programs. These include the Bachelor of Science in Nursing Prelicensure program – presently available in 24 states and counting – that adds new RNs to the workforce, various NP programs that require advanced clinical training to meet patient needs, and other innovative programs under consideration and development. In this region, the school has graduated more than 17,000 students, with more than 6,000 of those from Indiana.

“I always wanted to become a nurse and serve the healthcare industry but was only able to pursue my dream after I learned about WGU through a coworker,” said Samantha Conor-Mattes, WGU’s BSN Prelicensure graduate from Indianapolis. “The program’s flexibility and my mentor’s support helped me realize my goal without giving up my job. Attending the skills labs was the highlight of the program for me because it helped me develop focus and aptitude for clinicals – a must-have before entering the field of nursing.”