CHARLOTTE — Novant Health is investing $500,000 in UNC Charlotte to support the university’s College of Health and Human Services.
The funding will provide resources to maintain and enhance 15 nursing labs on campus. In these labs, students participate in training simulations designed to replicate real-world health care scenarios.
The financial backing will provide resources for the university’s nursing program infrastructure. The 15 labs serve as primary training environments where students undergo practical health care simulations.
The partnership comes as health systems face growing workforce shortages.
The simulator uses artificial intelligence and can recreate medical situations that students could face on the job.
UNC Charlotte senior lecturer Melinda Pierce said the technology moves training beyond the textbook.
“We can provide an immersive, experiential scenario for our nursing students,” she said.
Students will be able to practice using medical equipment, work as a team, and make quick decisions without putting a patient at risk.
“They have a chance, in a psychologically and physically safe environment, to take care of that patient as if they were already a registered nurse,” Pierce said.
UNC Charlotte has 15 nursing labs where students build those skills.
Novant Health is investing $500,000 to help maintain and improve the labs while strengthening the pipeline of future healthcare workers.
The partnership comes as health systems across the country and around the world face a shortage of healthcare professionals.
Novant Health’s Dr. Sid Fletcher said that need will only grow as the population changes.
“Not only are we growing, we are also graying,” said Fletcher, senior vice president and president of employer solutions, Novant Health. “As you see folks in the community getting older, there is going to be more demand for healthcare services. We have to make sure that we have a really active and engaged pipeline to support that.”
The partnership will also support workforce innovation and well-being programs for faculty and staff.
Researchers at UNC Chapel Hill predict that by 2033, North Carolina will be short more than 12,000 registered nurses and more than 5,000 licensed practical nurses.
Nursing homes and assisted living facilities could see the most staffing reductions.
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