Building the Future of Nursing Through Hands‑On Learning
As Nurse Appreciation Week highlights the vital role nurses play in our communities, it also underscores a pressing challenge facing healthcare today: a growing nursing workforce shortage. As demand for care rises, hospitals and health systems need well-prepared nurses who can step into complex environments with confidence, competence and compassion.
Closing this gap requires more than increasing enrollment—it requires reimagining how nurses learn. Hands-on, immersive healthcare education prepares students for the realities of patient care, improves readiness and strengthens retention. At McCownGordon, improving lives means helping build the environments where future nurses gain the skills that ultimately support patients, families and entire communities.
Across the region, McCownGordon is helping academic and clinical partners build environments where future nurses can learn with purpose and where learning feels like real care. Each project below plays a unique role in strengthening the healthcare workforce pipeline, from simulation hospitals and skills labs to interdisciplinary education hubs and crisis-response training centers.
Learning by Doing: Facilities That Strengthen the Nursing Pipeline
Research College of Nursing + HCA Healthcare Center for Clinical Advancement
McCownGordon delivered a 78,000-square-foot collaborative campus designed to seamlessly connect academic learning with clinical practice. Next-generation simulation and skills labs mirror real hospital environments, allowing students to practice decision-making, teamwork and clinical skills in realistic scenarios before entering live settings. Dedicated control rooms, advanced simulators and an emergency-style skills lab support repeated, hands-on training. This experience builds confidence and readiness while allowing programs to scale as enrollment grows.
Pittsburg State University – McPherson College of Nursing
An addition and renovation transformed learning spaces to support immersive, experiential education. The new 10,000-square-foot simulation hospital replicates real clinical flow with nurses’ stations, exam rooms, hospital rooms and observation areas. Flexible active-learning classrooms and upgraded study spaces promote engagement and collaboration ensuring graduates are better prepared for the pace and demands of modern healthcare.
University of Kansas Medical Center – Health Education Building
The Health Education Building sets a new benchmark for interprofessional health education. Serving students from the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Health Professions, the building integrates simulation centers, clinical skills labs and collaborative learning spaces. By learning alongside other healthcare professionals in realistic environments, nursing students develop communication and teamwork skills essential for safe, coordinated care.
UMKC – Healthcare Delivery & Innovation Building
This one-of-a-kind facility brings together medical, dental, health equity, engineering and data science programs under one roof. Designed to support interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation, the building reinforces how modern healthcare relies on connected teams and systems. These shared learning environments prepare future providers to approach care holistically, improving outcomes and advancing health equity in the community.
Lincoln University – Health and Security Sciences Institute (HSSI)
The new 42,000-square-foot HSSI supports the expansion of Lincoln University’s nursing program while strengthening regional healthcare and crisis response education. With modern nursing classrooms and an emergency operations training center, the facility prepares students for both everyday patient care and complex community challenges. Ultimately this program expands capacity and readiness in a growing region.
Building Spaces That Improve Lives
Hands-on healthcare learning environments play a critical role in addressing the nursing shortage. By making education more engaging and realistic, these facilities help prepare nurses who are confident and ready to serve from day one.
At McCownGordon, improving lives means looking beyond the building itself to its long-term impact. We’re proud to help create spaces that support students, educators, healthcare systems and ultimately the patients and communities who rely on skilled, compassionate nurses every day.
