What once served as the headquarters for a medical gas supplier in Bloomington, Indiana is now a training center for health sciences professions. The new Marchant School of Nursing sits prominently on the corner of the Ivy Tech Community College campus in Bloomington and houses two nursing labs, a computer lab, three classrooms and faculty offices that were previous located in the campus’ main building. The move to this new building allows the growing Center of Excellence to more effectively market its program and it frees up much-needed classroom space in the main building.

Schmidt Associates designed the transformation of the building into modern classrooms. The two nursing labs flank the far ends of the first floor and contain high fidelity equipment and mannequins to simulate a series of medical emergencies so nurses can prepare for the real-world traumas they will face during their careers. One lab has two simulation rooms on either side of a control room to simulate labor and delivery, surgical and ICU scenarios. The other lab houses 10-12 patient beds with mannequins where nurses can practice basic medical procedures.

With an aging population and increases in the severity of medical conditions, facilities like the Marchant School of Nursing are becoming increasingly more important to meet the growing need for well trained nurses and other health sciences professionals.