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Perry signs bill to fund new nursing building
SFA welcomed Gov. Rick Perry to the campus Tuesday for the ceremonial signing of House Bill 1775, which authorized $13 million in tuition revenue bonds to fund renovations for the building that will house the Richard and Lucille DeWitt School of Nursing.
“We have planted a seed that is going to grow into a sturdy oak tree that will serve the community, state and the future of nurses,” Perry said. “I am pleased to sign this bill.” The building, which once housed the offices for a local Kentucky Fried Chicken franchiser, was donated to SFA by Lucille DeWitt and her husband, the late Richard DeWitt of Nacogdoches.
The gift was received at January’s board of regents meeting, and the stipulation on the gift was that the School Of Nursing had to occupy the building within three years, according to Andy Kesling, executive director of marketing.
“We knew we wouldn’t be able to do it, so we went to Austin,” Dr. Baker Pattillo, SFA president, said. “I was told a number of times that there would be no way possible the governor would approve it.”
The bill was made possible by state legislation introduced by Rep. Wayne Christian and Sen. Robert Nichols during the last legislative session.
“Not all answers can be found in Austin,” Perry said. “Public-private partnerships are the future.”
SFA had to raise $13 million needed to fund renovations for the building, Pattillo said. The building is on a 17-acre site located on North Street near Nacogdoches Medical Center. The site was appraised at a value of $1.4 million, according to a press release issued by the SFA office of public affairs.
Dr. Glenda Walker, director of the school of nursing, said she believes that the quality of nursing care will increase in East Texas as the result of this facility.
“Right now, we can only admit 60 students per semester (into the nursing program),” Walker said. “The new classrooms will seat 100 students, so we may be allowed to admit over 100 students each semester. We could possibly double enrollment.”
Currently, there is not enough lab space for nursing students to practice the techniques they have learned, Walker said.
“We have no space for labs,” Walker said. “Our students will be able to practice their skills, and we will have plenty of room for labs.”
The state funding for the school is a commitment to address the shortage of nursing personnel in the state, Perry said.
“Ten percent of nursing jobs in East Texas go unfulfilled,” Perry said. “Nursing schools are turning down thousands of students because of a shortage of professors.
“Nurses are the soldiers on the front line,” Perry said. “They serve their patients with a source of comfort. This is an investment into the future of this state.”
