Western Wyoming Community College to Break Ground on $11.1 Million Health Science Wing

Western Wyoming Community College will be breaking ground on a new Health Science wing next Thursday, May 10. The ceremony will be held from 3 to 4 p.m. at the edge of the west parking lot adjacent to Gateway Boulevard. The new wing will span over 10,000 square feet on the west side of the school, with an estimated cost of $11.1 million. It is scheduled to be completed by August 2026.

In January 2023, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) awarded Western a $3 million grant to assist in diversifying the economy of Southwest Wyoming by enhancing the region’s healthcare workforce. The grant was funded under the Assistance to Coal Communities (ACC) initiative. The expansion comes as a response to the growth of Western’s nursing program from 24 students per year in 2008 to 40 in 2017 without additional space. A Level II study in 2020 revealed the need for new dedicated space for health science curriculum.

The new Health Science wing at Western Wyoming Community College is an important step towards providing students with modern and up-to-date facilities for their education in healthcare fields such as nursing, nurse assistants, and phlebotomy studies. This expansion comes after years of growth in demand for these programs, which have outgrown their current spaces without additional funding or resources.

Chair of Health Sciences and Director of Nursing, Heidi Brown, expressed her excitement about this development and highlighted the importance of expanding physical resources to meet the demands of healthcare education at Western Wyoming Community College. She stated that “the new facilities and equipment will enable us to provide our students with hands-on training and practical experience that prepares them for successful careers in healthcare.”

The grant funding for this project includes a combination of state, college, and grant dollars from organizations such as EDA’s Assistance to Coal Communities initiative, which recognizes that communities affected by coal mining need support in diversifying their economies and improving public services like healthcare education institutions like Western Wyoming Community College.

Western Wyoming Community College has received continuing accreditation from ACEN during their visit in 2020 confirming compliance with all standards while meeting increasing demands from students seeking quality education in nursing program.