The nursing program at Wright State University (WSU) Dayton campus was approved for a $6 million renovation project, including interior renovations of multiple buildings, new labs and more.
The purpose of this expansion is to make room for more nursing students. This project will allow an estimated 740 students to enroll in the program for the 2027-2028 school year, whereas there were only 340 enrolled this spring.
According to bidnet direct, a government proposal site, a major part of the renovations is focused on relocating and updating the labs.
“The primary scope will be interior demolition, interior construction, and limited envelope improvement at the Medical Sciences Building. The first floor shall be renovated for a Nursing Skills Learning Center consisting of skills training labs, practice labs, anatomage lab, storage and shell space,” the proposal reads.
There are currently nine labs located in the basement of University Hall next to a nurse’s lounge. This project will move the labs to the Medical Sciences building and have more of a separation for program simulations.
Destiny Scott, a nursing major at WSU, shared why she thinks the program could benefit from these renovations.
“I’ve personally never worked in any medical setting, and the labs are just classrooms with hospital beds and mannequins, so I don’t have much to go off of other than what I may have seen from being in a hospital,” Scott said.
In addition to the new labs, there will be a new nursing simulation suite and Emergency Room simulation suite with brand new equipment to help students prepare for real-world scenarios.
The original proposal to the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (Project No. WSU26-0010) was estimated at a cost of $40 million. However, after further review, the school determined the renovations could be done at a lower cost.
Deena John, the Director of Communications and Media Relations at WSU, released a statement from the university about the project.
“Following a detailed review of the project’s scope, cost, and timeline, the university determined that renovating and expanding the School of Nursing footprint in University Hall would meet both current and future needs at a lower cost,” the statement reads.
The project will move forward with a budget of $6 million. However, larger renovations may potentially be considered in the future.
Construction is set to start this summer, with it being completed in two phases. The first part will be done this summer, and phase two will be done during the summer of 2027.
Nursing students at WSU are excited about these improvements coming to the program and the expansions will allow more students to join the program in the future.
Below are some of the walk-around videos of the lab demonstration.
