By Charles Owens
for Bluefield Daily Telegraph
ATHENS — The government funding bill signed into law earlier this week by President Donald Trump included $7.5 million in federal funding to help convert a former student dormitory on the campus of Concord University into expanded classroom and lab offerings for students enrolled in health care courses.
The goal of the project, which was backed by U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and U.S. Senator Jim Justice, R-W.Va., is to help address the ongoing shortage of health care providers in rural areas like West Virginia by expanding health care-related programs and graduating new health care professionals, university officials said.
The $7.5 million award will help fund facilities, equipment and construction for the second phase of the Center for Rural Healthcare Solutions project on the university’s Athens campus. Phase one renovations to the facility began last year through a $1.6 million congressionally directed spending award.
Concord University President Bethany Meighen said the funding award will help the university grow its health care courses while also working to meet the rural health care needs of West Virginia.
“This will help us continue to expand the number of spots we have for our nursing students,” Meighen said Thursday. “We are very excited to continue to grow that program. We just started it three years ago. So it’s very early. The money also will help us to see if there are other career paths we can have in the program.”
Wooddell Hall was once a student dormitory on the campus of Concord University. Meighen said university officials hope to have the phase two renovations completed by 2028.
“Ideally we would be thrilled if we could have this facility up and running in 2028,” Meighen said. “That would be amazing. We already have the first two floors renovated and to finish the remaining three floors would be fantastic.”
Meighen said the university was “incredibly thankful” for the appropriations support championed by Capito and Justice.
The new health care classrooms and labs will train a new generation of health care workers who in return will benefit area health care providers.
Karen Bowling, president and CEO of WVU Medicine Princeton Community Hospital, said the program at Concord University, along with existing programs at Bluefield State University, New River Community and Technical College and Southwest Virginia Community College, will help to train and graduate future health care professionals for the region.
“We are very fortunate,” Bowling said Thursday. “Because I would say some parts of the state don’t have two programs that provide outstanding nurses. And we also have several other outstanding community college programs that support this area. So not only do we have two universities, we have a community college providing nursing education. I think that makes a big difference moving forward.”
Bowling said there is a continuous need for health care workers in the region as current nurses retire and the region’s population ages. She said both Southern West Virginia and Southwest Virginia are rural areas where residents often suffer from high rates of heart disease, pulmonary problems, diabetes and other medical issues that require health care.
“We always need nurses and many time physician assistants are often people we hire to take care of patients,” Bowling said. “We’ve done really a great job here at Princeton in being able to work with all of the schools in our geographic area to bring more nurses into our hospital. Many of our nurses are getting close to the retirement age and our population is aging as well.”
Bowling said there will always be openings in the health care field for students as they graduate from area universities and colleges. PCH is the largest employer in Mercer County.
“ As we continue to expand, we will need more workers,” Bowling said, adding that the new health care program at Concord University can help to meet that need.
Both Capito and Justice applauded the Concord University funding award that was included in the appropriations minibus bill.
“I am thrilled that with President Trump’s signing of the recent appropriations package into law, Concord University will now be receiving funding to establish a Center for Rural Healthcare Workforce Solutions,” Capito, who joined Trump during the signing of the government funding bill Tuesday, said. “This targeted investment will help equip both students and professionals in the Concord University community with the skills needed to address critical health care workforce shortages in rural communities across our state.”
“Fighting for West Virginia is my job as a senator,” Justice added in a statement. “I’m excited to see funding unlocked for our friends at Concord University and can’t wait to see what blooms from the smart use of these dollars. Congrats, Concord University!”
Students who will be making use of the new health care facilities and labs at the former dormitory are currently enrolled in Concord’s Physician Assistant, Nursing, and Health Sciences fields.
David Barnette, a member of the Concord University Board of Governors, said the ongoing phase II project will directly support the health care work force needs of the state and beyond.
“With this congressional support, Concord can continue expanding health care-related programs and graduating professionals ready to serve in rural areas in need,” Barnette said.
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