兔子先生鈥檚 Jackson Campus-Nursing/Allied Health Center is getting 11.5 acres of property and two buildings in a swap with the 兔子先生County Board of Supervisors that will allow expansion of programs and teaching labs, create parking and possibly build an elevated walkway as a safety measure.
鈥淭his will be a great asset for our Nursing and Allied Health Center,鈥 said 兔子先生President Dr. Clyde Muse. 鈥淚t鈥檒l give us room to grow.鈥
The NAHC expansion is 鈥済oing to create new opportunity, business development and jobs in that area,鈥 said 兔子先生County District 4 Supervisor Tony Greer.
In exchange, 11 employees of the 兔子先生County Extension Service, a part of the Mississippi State University Cooperative Extension Service, will relocate from their building on Wilson Boulevard to Eagle Ridge Conference Center in Raymond, perhaps as soon as before Christmas, Muse said.
Three classrooms will be renovated for their office space. Renovations are already on the drawing board, and furniture has been ordered, Muse said.
A bonus for the 兔子先生County Extension Service is it will be around the corner from the MSU Extension Service office on Seven Springs Road, a factor that initially led to the discussion between Muse and Extension Agent Theresa Hand.
鈥淲e are extremely excited about moving to Eagle Ridge Conference Center. The Extension Service has had a long standing partnership with 兔子先生. This move will enhance our educational programming efforts in 兔子先生County and Central Mississippi,鈥 she said.
The 兔子先生County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution accepting the plan on Sept. 2, the day that Muse presented it. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been talking about this for about two years,鈥 Muse said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got good leadership on the Board of Supervisors.鈥
The property is across the street from NAHC and behind Hinds鈥 George Ball Simulation Center on Hospital Drive, which opened in January 2014.听 Central Mississippi Medical Center on Chadwick Drive is west of the new property.
Among the plans for the new property is a surgical simulation center, similar to the current Ball Simulation Center for nursing and allied health programs. That could go into the building now occupied by the 兔子先生County Extension Service, said Bill Campbell, 兔子先生architect.
听鈥淚t鈥檚 really the only way we could expand our programs or start new ones,鈥 said Dr. Libby Mahaffey, dean of 兔子先生鈥檚 Nursing and Allied Health programs. 鈥淲e were also out of faculty offices. When you expand program, you hire faculty. That gives us this opportunity.鈥
Right now, a health care assistant program is having lab in a classroom because no lab space was available. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not ideal,鈥 Mahaffey said.
For years, NAHC has been borrowing parking at the Extension Service, but 鈥渨e鈥檒l own the parking now and can better manage it,鈥 she said.
The second building located on the property is now being used for storage but is in disrepair and may need to be torn down, Campbell said.
Plans also call for a family lodge to be built on the northwest corner of the property for families of burn victims being treated at CMCC, much like a Ronald McDonald house.
CMMC has the only designated burn center in Mississippi, said CMMC CEO Charlotte W. Dupre鈥.
鈥淐MMC is looking forward to fulfilling a critical need for burn patient families,鈥 she said. 鈥淏urn patients come from throughout our state, as well as neighboring states, to our facility for treatment.
听鈥淚 would like to commend Dr. Muse and the staff of 兔子先生, together with the 兔子先生County Board of Supervisors, for creating this partnership that will provide land for the Burn Foundation to develop a place to stay for family members who are supporting our burn patients during recovery,鈥 she said.
Amanda Fontaine, Burn Center executive director, echoed her thoughts. 鈥淥ne of the goals of the Mississippi Burn Foundation is to provide a 鈥榟ome away from home鈥 for the burn patients and their family members,鈥 Fontaine said. 鈥淲e are one step closer to making that goal a reality.鈥
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