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Investment will fund simulation suite where students can practice their skills on high-tech training mannequins.

The Noel Barrett Shuler Foundation has pledged $500,000 to help Front Range Community College build its new Health Care Careers Center in Fort Collins. This is the largest donation to date for FRCC’s new facility, which is set to open in August.

“Dr. Barry Shuler created his foundation to support the varied interests he had during his lifetime,” said Mark Driscoll, chair of the board of advisers for the Shuler Foundation. “His primary focus is to make a difference in the lives of young people, and to support education at all levels. The foundation’s support of the Health Care Careers Center at FRCC is a perfect fit for Dr. Shuler’s intent.”  

FRCC Health Care Careers Center Drawing

The center will fill a critical need for the community by providing highly qualified nurses and health care professionals for the growing population in northern Colorado. The two-story, 62,500 square-foot building will provide a centralized, technology-rich learning environment within a state-of-the-art facility for all of the college’s health-related and nursing programs.

The building—called Grays Peak—will be the main training center for more than 900 students studying health-related fields at the college.

This donation will help fund creation of a simulation suite equipped with high- and mid-fidelity mannequins for use by students in FRCC’s health care programs, such as nursing and emergency medical services. The suite will allow for much-needed interdisciplinary collaboration among the colleges health-related programs. It will also provide debrief rooms for post-simulation reflection. The new “Noel Barrett Shuler Foundation Simulation Suite” will also include practice rooms where individual students—or small groups—can work on their skills.

“Our new facility will help us meet Colorado’s need for highly-skilled health care professionals,” said FRCC President Andy Dorsey. “This donation from the Shuler Foundation will help pay for state-of-the-art, high-tech training spaces and equipment that will prepare our students to provide excellent care for their patients.”

FRCC’s Health Care Careers Center

All of FRCC’s current health care and nursing programs will be housed in the HCCC. The building will also include space for new programming to meet the changing healthcare needs of the community.

The HCCC will house a variety of state-of-the-art learning spaces including classrooms, labs, small group learning spaces and collaborative space to support the programs and provide students with the required high end hands-on training by dramatically improving inadequate, undersized clinical labs.

FRCC’s Health Care Programs

Front Range Community College offers 15 degrees and certificate programs focused on educating and training students for a variety of disciplines in the health and wellness field.

FRCC currently offers the only nursing program in Larimer County. Our graduates boast among the highest pass rates on the national licensure exam of any nursing program in the state.

FRCC began to offer a new Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree in the fall of 2019. The BSN degree is available to current students, graduates, and incumbent workers who live in Front Range Community College’s service area, which intersects seven counties from north Denver to Wyoming.

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About Noel Barrett Shuler Foundation

Dr. Noel Barrett Shuler believed that “the youth of this country are its future and, to the extent that they dedicate themselves to excellence, will determine how this wonderful country of ours will continue to grow and prosper spiritually, as well as materially.” Following his studies at Colorado State University, Dr. Shuler pursued some of his main interests in life largely related to veterinary medicine, agriculture, animal science and husbandry. He was able to devote many years of time and effort to his beloved Rito Oso Ranch carrying out the skills he learned. The Foundation will focus its support on programs and organizations that support youth development, education, the arts, basic human needs including health care access and senior programs. The Foundation can be contacted at: shulerfoundation@gmail.com.

About Front Range Community College

FRCC offers more than 100 degree and certificate programs from locations in Boulder County, Larimer County, Westminster, Brighton, and online. FRCC is a member of the Colorado Community College System.

About the Colorado Community College System

The Colorado Community College System (CCCS) is the state’s largest system of higher education, serving 138,000 students annually at 13 colleges and 39 locations across Colorado. Our open access mission ensures all Coloradans who aspire to enrich their lives have access to quality higher education opportunities.

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