North by Northwest: The University of Arkansas Gives New Life to Nursing Program

UA Nursing Student

photography courtesy of University of Arkansas

Eleanor Mann always wanted to be a nurse. Though she never achieved that dream, her husband Herbert found a way to honor her wish. In 1996, the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville (UA) department of nursing was named the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing in recognition of a $1 million endowment contributed by Mann in honor of his wife. 

Sixteen years later, the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing is expanding into a new building on campus, the Epley Center for Health Professions, to better serve students seeking to become nurses.

“We had severely outgrown our existing facilities in Ozark Hall,” said Nan Smith-Blair, director of the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing. “We were planning to expand enrollment to help solve the nursing shortage in northwest Arkansas and the state, and in order to do so we had to increase facilities for the students.”

The building is named in honor of Lewis Epley, a former UA trustee, and his wife, Donna, who made a generous gift toward its construction. Donna served for 30 years as a registered nurse, and Lewis is a 1953 Polio survivor, at which time he received very dedicated and professional nursing care and has since been grateful.

“For the past 50 years, I have served as a volunteer and been involved in a large number of healthcare issues and facilities at the local, regional and state levels,” Lewis Epley said. “As a part of my work I have fully recognized that registered nurses and healthcare professionals are the heartbeat of a well-run hospital or healthcare facility, and there is nothing more reassuring to a patient than an intelligent, well-trained, competent and caring nurse.”

The 45,000-square-foot facility opened in January and is attached to the newly-renovated, former health center on Razorback Road, which is currently home to the Speech and Hearing Clinic. The expansion will allow the nursing school to double enrollment, admitting up to 100 new students each fall and spring.

“Donna and I are a part of the fast-growing aging population that will require services and more healthcare professionals,” Epley said. “We felt that the doubling of the nursing program at the University of Arkansas would be a benefit not only to the aging population, but also the general population of Arkansas citizens who may need the services of registered nurses who are well-trained and have mastered the medical technologies that become more complex each year.”

Smith-Blair referenced research that shows patient mortality and morbidity rates decrease as the education level of nurses goes up and recognizes the importance of this expansion for the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing.

“Nursing is a very extensive program to run,” Smith-Blair said. “Without the support of the Epleys — and other donors who have made significant contributions — who have made this possible, we couldn’t run a state-of-the-art, first-class program.”

Smith-Blair described several features of the nursing side of the new building:

One of the most unique aspects of the UA nursing program are the mannequins, which were transported by ambulance to the new facility from Ozark Hall due to their delicate machinery.

“The simulation labs allow students to practice on mannequins in a very life-like situation before they go into the clinical setting,” she said. “We can run these mannequins with simulations on conditions we can’t ensure each student will see. It’s extremely important in pediatric and neonatal care.”

• five debriefing rooms in which students and faculty can view video footage from the simulation labs to assess the students’ performance;

• two basic skills labs each with eight mannequins that are more basic than those in the simulation labs. Students can learn skills, such as catheterization and dressing wounds in these labs. This work can also be filmed;

• two additional rooms each with eight examining tables similar to those found in physicians’ offices in which students will perform health assessments, such as ear examinations, of each other;

• two classrooms each with seating for 50 people;

• a 60-seat computer lab;

• nursing administration and pre-nursing advising offices;

• a student lounge that offers areas for studying and small group meetings; and

• a faculty break area and larger meeting rooms.

“Without support of administration, Chancellor Gearhart, Dean Smith, Provost Gaber, we would not be where we are today. They have really gotten behind nursing and have helped promote it,” Smith-Blair said. “Producing more baccalaureate nurses is essential for this area.”