New Nursing School at Historically Black Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science Is in a Precarious Financial Position

Late last month the Mervyn M. Dymally School of Nursing at the Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles enrolled its first 40 students. The school is housed in a new $43 million facility that includes classrooms that resemble a nurses station, an operating room, an intensive care unit, and a birthing room. There are three patient wards, each with four beds that have mannequin patients. The mannequins can be programmed by instructors to talk, have a heart attack, and even die if given improper care.

The promise of the new nursing school is dimmed by the fact that the university may run out of funds to pay for the new building in six months. The interim president of the institution is seeking funds from the government, foundations, and other institutions in an effort to keep the school open.

Copyright © 2010. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.