With the average age of the buildings on its campus being 55 to 60 years, a Southeast Texas college is planning a new, state-of-the art facility.
In November, Lamar State College — Port Arthur broke ground on a new $37.4 million Allied Health and Sciences Building that is set to house several of its programs when it opens in March 2025.
Lamar State College — Port Arthur President Betty Reynard said the college has been working on the building for the past three to four years.
“You have to conceptualize the building, then you have to start collecting data and information about what it would cost and what the benefits are,” Reynard said. “Then you have to talk to your local legislative individuals and get the state to fund it. It’s a long process, but in the end it’s going to be very good for our campus and very good for the community.”
Reynard said the new building will help bring all the allied health programs together.
The building will the serve college's Nurse Aide, Vocational Nursing, LVN to RN Upward Mobility, Surgical Technology, and Drug and Alcohol Counseling programs.
The nearly $38 million building will be funded by the Tuition Revenue Bond Lamar State College — Port Arthur received after Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 52 in October 2022, according to a news release.
Dean of Academic and Technical Programs Dr. Melissa Armentor said the building will offer the Allied Health and Sciences department more than 30,000 square feet of new space.
“It will include office space for nursing and sciences, as well as an office suite for the department chair and support staff,” Armentor said. “It will house an anatomy and physiology lab, a chemistry physical science lab and a biology and microbiology lab as well as storage space for those labs. It will have multiple classrooms both general-use classrooms and computer classrooms.”
The building will feature a surgical technology suite with three simulated operating room beds for surgical tech students to get experience working in an actual surgical suite environment.
“The highlight of this building is going to be the simulation suite which will be a fully functional hospital environment with simulation software and mannequins so that the students get a real-world experience without having to actually be in a hospital,” Armentor said. “We will have several programmable high-fidelity mannequins, which can be programmed in multiple scenarios to provide students with a vast knowledge of what they might encounter in different situations.”
Armentor said it will also include gathering spaces for students where they can collaborate, charge devices and hang out between classes as well as additional space for the college to hopefully add some new programs.
In the fall, the college will be starting a new EMT program that will also be housed in the building.
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