Center For Health Sciences At The College Of Southern Maryland

A centralized facility at the Hughesville campus would allow the college to expand health care offerings. This is extremely important since employment opportunities in this field are growing at a rapid pace. Health care needs and health education over the next decade will change dramatically. The increased demand for services due to the aging population coupled with the concurrent aging of both the health care workforce and health educators will result in a significant mismatch between the supply and demand of skilled workers. The Maryland Hospital Association and the Governor's Workforce Investment board both cite the looming shortage of qualified professionals in the health care industry as a critical problem. According to research conducted by the Office of Capital Budgeting, Maryland has a projected shortfall of RNs and LPNs by 2025. This shortfall is exacerbated by the fact that many nurses tend to enter the workforce in the area where they were trained.

The primary reason for the health sciences building is the increased need for adequate health care resources in the medically underserved Southern Maryland populations of Calvert, Charles, and St Mary’s counties. Not only is there a shortage of these jobs in Southern Maryland, but the shortage is projected to get worse. This project seeks to remedy that by increasing access to state-of-the-art health science programs in the region and revitalize local employment opportunities.

The centerpiece of this facility is the medical simulation suite. Made to resemble a hospital setting, this suite provides real-world, hands-on medical education simulation. Other state-of-the-art educational areas are medical lab technology, emergency services, retail and hospital pharmacy simulation, Occupational and Physical therapy, computer lab and classrooms, along with lecture rooms, a student advising center, small study rooms, and administration.