Springdale institute explores potential for $10 million medical education building

SPRINGDALE -- Northwest Technical Institute officials are exploring building a $10 million medical facility on campus to address local demand for health care workers.

The board Thursday held a work session to discuss the road ahead for making the proposed building a reality.

"We know the medical need is real," said Jim Rollins, institute president.

The institute is a state-supported school offering several programs for high school students and adults, including industrial maintenance, diesel technology, nursing and information technology.

Administrators began examining the need for an increased focus on health care education about five months ago, Rollins said.

Joe Rollins, the Northwest Arkansas Council's director of workforce development, said health care and social assistance is the second-highest growing industry in Northwest Arkansas. Construction is first and manufacturing is third, he said.

The region had 1,128 open health care support jobs with 281 different employers as of Thursday, he said.

"I think this is the right time and conversation," Joe Rollins said of the facility. The region will continue to see a need for qualified health care workers, he said.

Northwest Arkansas' population was 545,866 as of 2020 and is projected to grow by 39,994, or 7%, over the next five years as people move to the region in search of work, Joe Rollins said.

The institute has to determine whether funding the medical building is feasible before taking further action, said James Johnson, consultant with Development and Institutional Advancement Associates in Johnson.

"I think this is our first step," he said. "What we need to know is can we raise real money."

Johnson said he's working with institute administrators on a funding feasibility and planning study.

About 50 individuals, foundations and corporations will be asked through confidential interviews if they would be willing to make a gift toward the development of the building and in what amount, he said. No actual gifts will be asked for at that time, he said. Interviews will take about five months to complete, he said.

"What we want to do is win the campaign on paper before we even start," he said.

Funding the building will likely require the participation of state and local industry partners and personal and philanthropic giving, Jim Rollins said.

The institute has been busy recently constructing new facilities, including a 14,000-square-foot building for the welding program. It opened last year. The institute also is building a 20,000-square-foot building for the ammonia refrigeration and industrial maintenance program.

The welding building was funded through a $3 million gift from the estate of Ella Frances Byrd of Springdale as part of the Jackson G. Byrd Bypass Trust, said Melissa Greenslade, student service director.

The institute received $1 million from the state's rainy day fund and $1 million from Tyson Foods to pay for the ammonia refrigeration building's construction and equipment installation, Jim Rollins said.

The institute is state funded, said Mike Hamley, vice president of finance and operations. The institute also received funds through philanthropic giving, tuition and fees, he said.

Recognized need

The proposed building isn't likely to become a reality for at least three years, Jim Rollins said. It would take about one year to raise the money necessary to begin construction and another two to build it, he said.

The building would meet a definite need for the school, said Debra Walker, the institute's director of nursing programs. The institute offers certified nursing assistant, sterile processing, surgical technology and licensed practical nurse programs, Greenslade said. About 130 students graduate from the programs annually.

"We can't grow the programs right now because there's nowhere to put them," Walker said of incoming students.

Health care students share space in the school's main building and the nursing building with other programs, she said.

The nursing program has two classrooms, both with a capacity of 35 students, Walker said. Classrooms in the main building seat no more than 18 students, said Robin Eason, vice president of instruction.

The nursing building likewise fails to meet technology, safety and comfort needs, Walker said. It has windows that don't open fully and must be broken to exit classrooms in the event of an emergency, outdated wiring, poor internet connectivity and poor ventilation, she said. The facility can be very cold in the winter and extremely hot in the summer.

"We're in desperate need over there," she said. "If you're freezing, you can't think."

Potential

The proposed building would be about 50,000 square feet and serve all health care students under one roof, Jim Rollins said. The current nursing building is 18,585 square feet, Hamley said.

A medical building would also allow the institute to increase its offerings, Eason said. The institute could incorporate medical assistant, pharmacy technician, electrocardiograph technician, medical office administration, dental assistant and other medical programs.

"We have much to contribute to the health community," she said. "We just need a facility and the opportunity."

Richard Alderman, lead architect with Wittenberg, Delony and Davidson Architects, has been working with the institute on a voluntary basis to discuss the proposed building.

The building would best be located on the northwest corner of the campus, where it would be visible from South Old Missouri Road, he said.

"I think we're on the right path," said Carlos Chicas, a member of the institute's board of directors. "We need to be our own billboard."