The Center will be located at #1 Academy Place in Dardenne Prairie, former site of Barat Academy, a 69,000-square-foot building purchased by Lindenwood in September 2012. The boards of both institutions approved terms of the agreement last week.
Lindenwood will offer post-associate degree coursework in nursing for students who already have a two-year nursing degree. SCC will move its entire associate degree nursing programs to the site, as well as its Licensed Practical Nursing, Occupational Therapy Assistant, Health Information Technology and Health Occupational programs. SCC will lease approximately 26,000 square feet of the building's space under terms of the agreement.
“This is a unique public-private arrangement that could be a model for the future,” said Lindenwood President James D. Evans, Ph.D. “I appreciate the progressive leadership and the foresight of both boards in helping put this together.”
The agreement centers on ease of transition, affordability and accessibility for students who plan to pursue advanced degrees.
“This agreement has been a year in the making,” said SCC President Ron Chesbrough, Ph.D. “We are excited to add Lindenwood University to our list of four-year partners in the nursing and allied health fields in this very unique and enterprising collaboration.”
As part of the collaboration, SCC will move its state-of-the-art simulation lab to the new location and expand the space to create a “virtual hospital” that will provide the ability to offer concurrent simulations.
“This added feature will provide opportunities for multi-disciplinary simulations and afford both programs a way to reduce some of the constraints related to securing clinical sites and increase program capacity,” said Patti Williams, SCC dean of nursing and allied health.
Lindenwood's post-associate degree coursework in nursing will start in August at the Center, said Peggy Ellis, Ph.D., dean of the Nursing and Allied Health Sciences at Lindenwood. “We plan to eventually to offer other health management degree completion programs such as occupational therapy, health information technology, EMT, and allied health. In addition, Lindenwood plans to offer a master's degree in nursing in the spring of 2014.
"Successful communities work together to prepare the workforce of the present and the future,” said Greg Prestemon, president and CEO of St. Charles County Economic Development Center. “This partnership between two indispensable institutions will not only change the lives of the students and patients, it will help to transform our local economy. I believe that 10 years from now, people will mark this partnership as a pivotal event in the growth and development of St. Charles County."