Leaders, donors, and alumni of Saint Joseph’s College of Maine, joined by Senator Angus King (I-ME), gathered on Friday to celebrate the dedication and grand opening of the Jeanne Donlevy Arnold Center for Nursing Innovation (CNI).
The CNI houses the newest SIM labs in the state of Maine. The labs are designed to enhance instruction and practice for campus, online, and hybrid nursing students at Saint Joseph’s, as well as for visiting community health care groups from across the state and New England.
“You have to have people that are passionate about the mission, and passionate about bringing this incredible facility to bear on the training of nurses,” said Senator King in a speech to attendees. “We’re 2000 nurses short in Maine, so this facility and the training that will go on here will make a contribution to that. The Center will turn out nurses that are more confident, because they’ve had the experience before being dropped into a health care facility.”
Senator Susan Collins, in a letter read at the event, said, “Saint Joseph’s new SIM Center addresses [the nursing] gap by pairing its already excellent nursing program with a state-of-the-art training facility that will attract high quality students and teach them the skills they need to provide top quality care to patients. And, I might add, they will receive that state-of-the-art training in a beautiful setting here on the shores of Sebago.”
Photos and videos of the event and the CNI are available here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1V0XTq6cMvAklcR8Azwmr6tc0V6w8X7t2?usp=sharing
The CNI will elevate the College’s on-campus and online nursing education, offering:
- More high-quality nurses to address Maine's nursing shortage
- Cutting-edge SIM technology in ICU, maternal, pediatric, and home care settings
- Nursing advancement through new and enhanced community health care partnerships
Funding for the Center was initially provided by a challenge grant from the Harold Alfond Foundation. SJC alumna Dr. Jeanne Donlevy Arnold and her husband Ed Arnold pledged $2 million in response to the challenge. Final funding was provided by an $810,000 Congressional Directed Spending award in 2022, sponsored by Senator King and Senator Collins.
Speakers at the dedication included Senator Angus King (I-ME); Halsey Frank, Senior Counsel and State Director for Senator Susan Collins; Saint Joseph’s College of Maine President Joseph Cassidy; Former President James Dlugos; Nursing Director Dr. Kelly Hudock; Sister Ellen Turner-Mercy; and Craig Becker, Trustee.
