The Long Island Regional Development Council brought home “only” $62 million in state economic-development funds in the 2016 REDC competition, but it can lick its wounds while watching its six-year, half-billion-dollar haul do its work.
That includes an LIREDC-backed project that came to fruition this week on Adelphi University’s Garden City campus, where the school officially cut the ribbon on its state-of-the-art, 100,000-square-foot Nexus Building.
The $76 million centerpiece of Adelphi’s grounds – which houses the university’s 22,000-square-foot Nursing Innovation Lab and Training Center, among other spaces – was bolstered in 2014 by $2.4 million in capital support through Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s REDC initiative.
Patrick Coonan: Public-private partnerships are economically “critical.”
At a time when “demand for nurses with a four-year degree is growing,” the laboratory will be the heart of a progressive training program, according to LIREDC Co-Chairman Stuart Rabinowitz.
“It is vital that we have well-trained candidates to fill these important jobs,” noted Rabinowitz, the president of nearby Hofstra University. “New York State’s colleges and universities are economic engines of their communities.”
While providing those economic benefits, the new training center will be producing some exceptional healthcare professionals, noted Patrick Coonan, dean of the Adelphi University’s 1,800-student College of Nursing and Public Health.
“The center’s clinical education and simulation labs will ensure that Adelphi nursing graduates are the most prepared in the region,” Coonan said in a statement. “This investment in our university … signals the state’s confidence in Adelphi.”
It also exemplifies the kinds of public-private partnerships “that are so critical to ensuring a robust and educated workforce and thriving local economy,” the dean added – and that’s exactly what made it a perfect fit for the LIREDC, according to Co-Chairman Kevin Law.
“Investing in Long Island’s workforce is a major priority of the Long Island REDC and Gov. Cuomo,” noted Law, president and CEO of the Long Island Association. “The new Nursing Innovation Lab and Training Center will help aspiring nurses get the training they need to launch successful careers.”
The center, which actually opened to students at the beginning of the current semester, includes an array of “digital learning devices and simulated hospital settings,” according to a statement from the LIREDC. In addition to serving Adelphi University students, the facility will host continuing-education courses “to ensure that regional nurses remain well-trained to meet the changing nature of healthcare,” the council said.
