Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending - Construction - Established in 1971, Western Nevada College (WNC) is a public college with its main campus located in Carson City, Nevada, and satellite campuses in Minden, Nevada (Douglas County), and Fallon, Nevada (Churchill County). The College is known in the community for its strength in preparing students for careers in nursing and allied health occupations. Currently, the Douglas Campus does not have the capacity to offer WNC's nursing program, even though 24 (22%) of WNC's nursing students for the Spring 2024 semester were from the Minden/Gardnerville area served by the Douglas Campus. Douglas County, like many rural communities, is experiencing a severe nursing shortage. Currently, any potential nursing students in the county must travel to the Carson Campus (or elsewhere) for their education, which often leads to their recruitment in the community where the school is located. WNC is working to renovate and expand the Douglas Campus building to allow the nursing program to be offered at the Douglas Campus. The expansion will allow students to learn in their own rural community. Providing a local program allows these students to stay in their community and fosters the ability of local, rural hospitals and clinics to recruit these students. Additionally, this project will open more student seats at the other WNC campuses. WNC will build an addition to an existing building located on WNC’s Douglas Campus on property owned by WNC and purchase the equipment and technology necessary for educating nurses. Once completed, WNC will be able to offer the nursing and other allied health programs, such as phlebotomy, certified nurse assistant, and medical assistant, providing a state-of-the-art facility for educating the future healthcare workforce for this rural area.
