ST. JOSEPH - The College of Saint Benedict is renovating and expanding its nursing facility in the spring.

The updates are possible thanks to donations from Guy and Barbara Schoenecker and the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation. The renovated facility will be named the "Shoenecker Nursing Education Center".

The renovations will start in the spring and are expected to be finished by the start of the 2015 fall semester.

Carie Braun is the chair of the nursing department and says the expansion includes adding five new simulation rooms and an apartment facility.

Students will be able to get hands on experience in the rooms by practicing procedures with manikins. The manikins Braun says the renovations will also include ceiling-mounted cameras and microphones.

The goal is to help students meet current and growing health demands by creating a realistic work environment. Braun adds that a recent study shows nursing students benefit from getting hands-on training in simulators.

The nursing major serves 162 students at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University a year and employs 17 full-time faculty. Nursing is the fourth-largest major at the CSB.

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