Covenant Health is donating 10 acres on Sherrill Boulevard near Parkwest Medical Center for the Knox Regional Health Science and Simulation Center. Construction should start this year for the $75 million project which will be operated by Roane State Community College and the Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT).
A land donation recognition event is set for Friday at Parkwest.
This 1-minute clip shows how a similar programs works at the University of New Hampshire.
Gov. Bill Lee’s 2022-23 budget funded $67.5 million for the project, according to a press release from Roane State. The facility will enable instructors to provide comprehensive simulations of the work students will be doing when they graduate, in settings similar to clinics and hospitals.
The Covenant Health donation was contingent upon state funding.
The project had previously been approved by the Tennessee Board of Regents, the governing body for both Roane State and TCAT Knoxville. It was then recommended by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) for inclusion in the budget request.
Roane State is expected to provide at least a $7.5 million campus match. One million dollars was appropriated in FY 21-22 for preliminary design.
The center is meant to replace Roane State’s current Knox County Center for Health Sciences, a 16,000-square-foot campus located at 132 Hayfield Road. It will also be the new home of TCAT Knox’s health science programs.
As proposed, the new center would have 130,000 square feet in total, with at least 11,000 square feet devoted to the simulation center.
Roane State Community College provided information for this report.