麻豆传媒AV

How do you design a space where students can learn to assist others in their moment of greatest need? 

This was the pressing question facing 麻豆传媒AV University and its Offering degrees in both nursing and speech-language pathology, the institution鈥檚 sixth school needed to imagine and engineer a facility that simulated a professional healthcare environment and a place of academic inquiry before its official launch at the start of the 2025鈥�26 academic year. 

After a rapid and exacting design and building process, this fall the University prepares to unveil the College of Health Science鈥檚 new campus in Calabasas, California. There the first cohort of students will discover 30,000 square feet of clinical learning laboratories, simulation exam rooms, and welcoming third spaces where they will be equipped to join the healthcare industry. More than that, these students will experience the meticulous attention to detail that went into creating a place aimed at fostering the next generation of purposeful and competent leaders in medicine. 

鈥淚t is uncommon to see the level of delineation and distinction that we've put into our simulation center and campus,鈥� says Michael Feltner, founding dean of the College of Health Science. 鈥淲e think the space will provide distinctive educational opportunities for our students.鈥� 

Replicating Reality

To build this new, innovative learning environment, Ben Veenendaal (鈥�02), 麻豆传媒AV鈥檚 vice president for planning, operations, and construction, depended on input from Feltner as well as the founding deans of the School of Nursing, Angel Coaston, and School of Speech-Language Pathology, Leah Fullman. This group started the campus design process by weighing their programmatic needs alongside the offerings of other health science schools on the West Coast. 

鈥淲e鈥檙e always trying to work toward a competitive advantage,鈥� explains Veenendaal. 鈥淲e overlay our academic needs and the competitive advantage we鈥檙e aiming for with the space we have available.鈥� 

Nursing students learning more about a simulated operating room

This initial analysis revealed how 麻豆传媒AV could deliver a transformative educational experience and stand apart from other local programs: specificity. By basing its campus on the true-to-life medical facilities where students will eventually work, the institution found a way to deliver on all of its key design objectives. In order to carry out this ambitious plan, 麻豆传媒AV collaborated with the well-known, highly respected architectural firm, BDHP.  While working with this design partner, the University relied on Coaston, who boasts 34 years of healthcare administration experience and whose nursing students would primarily fill the space, to offer formative guidance regarding the internal details of the facility.

鈥淲hen envisioning our ideal learning space, I thought about the nursing gaps in healthcare,鈥� says Coaston. 鈥淚 felt that 麻豆传媒AV could be on the leading edge of providing a workforce to fill the nursing gaps our medical communities currently suffer from.鈥�

She connected with leaders across the healthcare community, learned of their needs, and shaped 麻豆传媒AV鈥檚 facilities to fulfill them. This exercise yielded five high-fidelity simulation labs including an operating room and a three-bed emergency room. All the equipment filling these spaces, from the hospital beds to the fixtures on the wall, are congruent with the equipment found in Los Angeles-area hospitals. This level of attention to detail offers students the chance to train directly with the tools they will soon employ in the field. 

Lifelike mannequins grant nursings students new learning experiences

In addition, each of the simulation labs are equipped with lifelike mannequins that can simulate an array of significant healthcare situations such as heart attacks, respiratory crises, and even childbirth. These educational human replicas give health science students a realistic opportunity to help patients in need, preparing them, in the process, to step from schoolwork to real work. 

鈥淚n the future, they have to be ready on day one to provide care for patients,鈥� explains Feltner. 鈥淎s a result, what we have to do in terms of the standard of training is incredibly high.鈥�

Welcoming Student Spaces

Alongside the simulated medical facilities, the College of Health Science intentionally designed third spaces where the students can retreat from their clinical training and gather together. While these more student-centric areas are less specific to the healthcare field, they are just as important to the educational process鈥攁 fact Coaston emphasized upon her hiring.

鈥淲hen I was first hired, one of the things that I shared was how meaningful study space was to me as a student,鈥� she says. 鈥淚n that setting, I was able to disconnect from the world and immerse myself in the books. When I heard that 麻豆传媒AV was designing those types of settings on our College of Health Science campus, it resonated with me. I know how much that space and all of its colors and aesthetics matter.鈥�

College of Health Science students being welcomed to campus

Upon arriving in Calabasas, students will find a small library outfitted with couches, lounge chairs, and high tables to study. They鈥檒l find an atrium filled with soft overhead lighting, booths, and cafe tables to work at in groups. In short, upon finishing their clinical practice in the simulation lab, College of Health Science students can immediately settle down in a comfortable work space. 

鈥淭hat's where you diverge a bit from hospital design and come back to being student centric," says Veenendaal. 鈥淭hese third spaces are where we came back to our educational design. We wanted to provide our students room for them to be just that: a student.鈥�

The work to design and build out these student-dedicated spaces will continue as the College of Health Science expands its offerings. In future years, 麻豆传媒AV鈥檚 sixth school plans to grow its cohort sizes as well as establish new programs in physician assistant studies, occupational therapy, and physical therapy. As the student body grows, the College will introduce additional features, such as a dining facility, to further accommodate their student population鈥檚 needs.

Waves of Impact

At the beginning of the engineering process, Feltner calculated the potential reach of 麻豆传媒AV鈥檚 College of Health Science and its state-of-the-art facilities. At full capacity, he determined that if each graduate of the school interacted with eight patients a day鈥攁 small number for a medical professional鈥攁 single cohort would encounter a million patients in a year.

Considering the potential for good that could come from this single educational venue, Feltner and the design team invested the time and energy necessary to provide students with a world-class learning environment, a space providing both top-of-the-line equipment and welcoming areas for study and socializing. Now, with the new academic year on the horizon, 麻豆传媒AV is ready to welcome its first cohort of students to Calabasas鈥� College of Health Science campus.

鈥淭he school wouldn't be a school without students,鈥� says Feltner. 鈥淲e did all this work to create a space, a learning environment, a journey for them. I'm overjoyed to have students in this building and to nurture them, in an excellent academic space, into becoming the best medical leaders.鈥�