This fall, Southeast Missouri State University nursing students are enjoying new classrooms, laboratories, technology and equipment in the newly renovated Rosemary Berkel Crisp Hall of Nursing.To celebrate the Department of Nursings upgraded facilities, a Grand Re-Opening and open house are scheduled for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26,as part of Southeasts Homecoming festivities. The campus, alumni and local communities are invited to meet nursing faculty and students, tour the renovated spaces, watch demonstrations and enjoy complimentary refreshments. The open house will also celebrate the 25th anniversary of Southeast's family nurse practitioner program.Originally opened in 1923 and located on Academic Drive just off Pacific Street, the building now serves as a one-stop health services hub to hundreds of students a day, featuring expanded and enhanced space for the Southeast Department of Nursing throughout the building, a new location for Counseling and Disability Services on the second floor, and a newly reconfigured 3,302-square-foot Campus Health Clinic, operated by SoutheastHEALTH, on the east end of the first floor.The Department of Nursing has been located in Crisp Hall since the mid 1980s. The University took the building offline at the end 2018 for a full renovation of the buildings electrical, mechanical, plumbing and fire alarm systems. In addition, all the windows were replaced while the facility received a complete interior facelift. Work was completed in summer 2019, and Crisp Hall now houses all student health-related services and needs under one roof.[caption id="attachment_34556" align="alignright" width="300"] Nursing students learn to conduct a head-to-toe physical assessment and patient history in the assessment lab.[/caption]The nursing programs renovated spaces include new offices, classrooms, student and faculty lounges, and three new labs on the first, second and third floors. The new spaces and enhanced technology and equipment allow nursing faculty and staff opportunities to better support, educate and prepare students for academic and career success, said Dr. Gloria Green, chair of Southeasts Department of Nursing.Since this semester began, our students, faculty and staff have been delighted to work and learn in their new spaces, she said. The expanded labs, classrooms and offices along with the addition of new technology and equipment support the academic needs of our students to be successful in the classroom before they apply their skills in the real-world.Key to the new renovations is the expansion of the assessment and skills labs, and the addition of a simulation lab, all located on the third floor.Nursing students learn to conduct a head-to-toe physical assessment and patient history in the 1,104-square-foot assessment lab. It contains three exam tables similar to those found in a typical doctors office and five foldable therapy tables with eight individual bays with privacy curtains.We designed the assessment lab to have an open-space concept that allows students and faculty to rearrange the space as needed to accommodate the needs and purpose of each class, Green said. Assessment is the first step of being a nurse and learning how to interact with patients. This lab allows them to learn the skills theyll need in a hospital in this safe space with other students, faculty and volunteers.[caption id="attachment_34557" align="alignleft" width="300"] In the skills lab, students learn and apply clinical and patient care skills.[/caption]In the 1,340-square-foot skills lab, students learn and apply clinical and patient care skills, including how to move patients in and out of hospital beds, administer medication, perform wound dressing changes and tube insertion and removal.Students move to the new 1,450-square foot simulation lab where they apply what theyve learned and practice their skills. The lab has been designed to replicate a hospital wing, and includes six individual rooms with adult, children, infant and newborn patient simulators. Additionally, each room is fitted with cameras for faculty and students to record an exercise and be able to review their work.Its a very realistic space, Green said. We can program different scenarios, events or problems for the students to address, such as heart attacks, births or infections. Its not only good for situations they will see in the hospital, but also for situations that are more unique that they may not see in their everyday job, such as an abnormal birth or an obese patient. We can prepare them from here so they can use that knowledge if and when they need it.In addition to the hands-on experiential labs, the Department of Nursings new instructional spaces include a large classroom and auditorium on the first floor and two new classrooms on the second floor, all enhanced with new computer technology for students to connect their laptop devices and interact with fellow students and faculty.New administrative spaces include a department suite located on the first floor; six faculty offices on the second floor; 15 faculty offices and a faculty lounge on the third floor.[caption id="attachment_34558" align="alignright" width="300"] In the new simulation lab, nursing students apply what theyve learned and practice their skills.[/caption]New offices were also added for the Southeast Student Nurses Association and nursing graduate students on the second floor, and a student lounge on the first floor. These new student-centered spaces provide additional resources for students pursuing their nursing interests and studying in a personal area made just for them, Green said.The newly renovated Crisp Hall helps continue to support the Universitys mission to prepare the next generation of nurses, added Green.We are so proud to be in these new spaces together in one building, she said. We are dedicated to educating the next generation of skilled, professional nurses, and now more than ever, we can continue to ensure our students are prepared and ready to launch extraordinary careers and positively influence the health of southeast Missouri and beyond.Funding for the Crisp Hall renovation project is the result of House Bill 19 signed into law in June 2015 that provided $10.08 million in maintenance and repairs for Grauel Building, Rosemary Berkel Crisp Hall of Nursing and Brandt Hall. K&S Associates, Inc. of St. Louis, Missouri, served as the general contractor. Subcontractors on the project were Richardet Flooring Coverings of Perryville, Missouri; Siemens of St. Louis; Rednour and Associates, Inc., of Clay City, Kentucky; Reynolds and Doyle, Inc., of Paducah, Kentucky; Acme Fireproofing and Insulation of Jenks, Oklahoma; Cape Paint and Glass of Cape Girardeau, Missouri; Interiors Plus, Inc., of Scott City, Missouri; Midwest Painting and Wallcovering of Cape Girardeau; Golterman and Sabo of St. Louis; Hi-Tech Fire Protection, LLC., of Scott City; Langford Service Co., Inc., of Jackson, Missouri; and Schneider Electric Co. of Perryville, Missouri.For more information about Southeasts Department of Nursing, visit https://semo.edu/nursing/.