Glenville State University cuts the ribbon on new nursing facility

GLENVILLE, W.Va. (WBOY) — Glenville State University (GSU) cut the ribbon on its new nursing facility on Wednesday and welcomed the community to come and see what’s offered inside its College of Health Sciences.

Dean of Health Sciences Kevin Evans told 12 News that this is the second year of the college being on GSU’s campus “and we’re really trying to grow and really meet the healthcare needs of rural West Virginia.”

The new nursing facility cost about $1.7 million, and Evans said that it took about six months to build. The facility has two clinical rooms for students to do analysis in, as well as numerous classrooms for instruction. Evans said that there will also be furniture coming soon, and nursing classes will officially begin in January 2025.

“It is a joint program with Marshall University and so, we do have a lot of technology so we can have remote communications with them, be able to access cameras, videos from Glenville to Marshall,” said Evans. He added that this partnership allowed the College of Health Sciences to get the nursing program accredited in its first year.

According to Evans, the college also has various other community partners across the state that have contributed to the growth of this program. With the program nursing students will be able to earn a Bachelor of Nursing in Science. Evans added that the college is currently in the process of developing additional undergraduate and graduate programs to help address healthcare needs in West Virginia.

“This is progress. What we do in education is prepare our young men and women for the future,” said GSU President Mark Manchin. “Now in order to prepare them for the future, you must have quality facilities, quality instruction and all the accouterments that are necessary for success.”

Manchin described the new facility as a gift to the students “to continue to hone their skills so they go out into this world and be productive citizens, productive healthcare providers here in central West Virginia.” He added that the students are excited and motivated about this center, which he feels will be an asset to them as they continue to navigate the program.

“Sometimes it gets a little difficult, particularly the nursing program can be a challenge for students,” Manchin added. “Hopefully…this continues to give them the inspiration and motivation they need to go forward and go into this world and be successful.”

Evans said that there will also be a health and wellness clinic coming inside the College of Health Sciences in the near future, but it’s not part of the nursing program. He said that for the clinic, they will be purchasing equipment to analyze people’s health and to help them develop a plan for nutrition, exercising and just staying healthy in general.

Manchin added that in the next five to seven years, the college is hoping to add a Physician’s Assistant Program, a Nurse Practitioner Program, as well as other healthcare professions.

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