Wilkes’ Passan School of Nursing receives $750,000 RACP grant for SIM Center

WILKES-BARRE — The Wilkes University Passan School of Nursing was recently awarded $750,000 through a Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP).

The funds will be used to create a new, state-of-the-art nursing simulation center, which will ensure that all nursing students will have the educational technologies needed to succeed in a rapidly changing healthcare environment.

Hands-on learning experiences using high-fidelity manikins and standardized patient scenarios will provide realistic simulations. The center can also serve the educational needs of first responders, community members and other healthcare professionals.

“All healthcare facilities continue to struggle with nursing shortages,” said Deborah Zbegner, dean of the Passan School of Nursing. “Receiving this funding is essential for modernizing the simulation center which takes our nursing program to a higher level.”

Zbegner said as the healthcare profession evolves and the medical concerns of an aging population grow, there is a strong need for qualified nurses.

“Nurses dedicate themselves to a career of caring for others, and right now, Wilkes intends to help our nursing students thrive, succeed and grow,” Zbegner said. “The funds awarded from the RACP grant will be combined with other gifts, grants and institutional funds to expand our nursing simulation education capabilities in the Stark Learning Center.”

RACP is a grant program administered by the Pennsylvania Office of the Budget for the design, acquisition and construction of regional economic, cultural, civic, recreational and historical improvement projects. The expansion of Wilkes University’s dedicated, state-of-the-art nursing simulation area will empower us to educate a greater number of highly skilled nurses.

“We are grateful that in a very competitive round of RACP funding, the Governor’s office and our legislative delegation saw the value in our desire to expand our nursing simulation center,” said Mike Wood, Special Assistant to the President in External Affairs. “We’d like to extend a special thanks to Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski for his ongoing support.”

Wood said this grant will only further assist Wilkes nursing students as the nursing program works to prepare students for the National Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). Most recently, Wood said graduates from Wilkes University’s Passan School of Nursing achieved a 98.72% pass rate at the NCLEX.

“The future of nursing depends on our incoming and current students to prepare competent professional nurses who will achieve licensure and enter the workforce ready to meet the healthcare challenges facing today’s society,” said Zbegner.