Jacksonville University is moving forward with a major build-out that will expand its healthcare training capabilities near its growing medical education campus.

The city issued a permit on May 14 for a $3.68 million project on the third floor of the College of Healthcare Sciences building at 5491 Dolphin Point Blvd. Danis Construction LLC will handle the build-out, with Jacksonville-based PQH Group Design Inc. serving as architect.

The planned 21,000-square-foot facility will include exam rooms, mock hospital rooms, a nurses’ station, debriefing and control rooms, classrooms, an anatomy lab and flexible interactive space. The layout is designed to support hands-on instruction in settings that closely resemble real clinical environments.

The project adds another layer to JU’s expanding healthcare education presence north of its main campus. The College of Healthcare Sciences currently occupies the first two floors of the three-story Dolphin Point building, which sits near the medical school JU is developing in partnership with Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. First-year students at the medical school are expected to begin classes this summer.

JU has steadily grown its simulation training program since launching the Healthcare Simulation Center in 2014 at its Arlington campus. After outgrowing its original 5,000-square-foot space, the university relocated the program to leased space in a former Albertsons shopping center at Beach and University boulevards, where it eventually expanded to more than 30,000 square feet.

The simulation program uses medical manikins and other training technology to recreate patient responses and hospital scenarios, giving nurses, first responders and other healthcare students practical experience before entering real-world clinical settings.

Source:  Jacksonville Daily Record