Wake Tech holds groundbreaking for new Simulation Hospital

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Wake Tech held a groundbreaking for its new Simulation Hospital, which officials believe will enhance training for students.

"It's not just watching and hearing about the things that can happen. It's being able to simulate in a very uniquely replicated way all of those things before our great health care providers go into our hospitals, our doctors' offices, other places," said Wake Tech President Dr. Scott Ralls.

Joined by other school leaders, elected officials, and students, renderings of the Simulation Hospital were displayed throughout a room inside the Perry Health Science Campus.

"I think this gives you one more step to being a real tech and being able to check the patients in and then bring them back and actually introduce yourself, very similar to what you'd be able to do in the clinical world," said Breanna Hodgins, a sonography student at Wake Tech.

The Simulation Hospital will be a three-story, 100,000-square-foot building, marking the first expansion of the Perry Health Sciences campus in more than a decade.

It will enable students to gain advanced experience in the patient check-in process, simulated nursing center, operating room, emergency department, advanced imaging center, neurodiagnostic labs, sonography labs, respiratory therapy labs, nurses' station, and patient rooms.

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"It's hard to navigate around how you're supposed to manage professionalism in the workplace after you've been a student. If you're able to kind of see that firsthand before you go to clinical and start your job, it's a lot easier to move into that workspace," said Hodgins.

"This institution, this center, will help many people learn how to get good jobs, high-paying jobs, jobs that are rewarding, that are mission-driven, that help people," said Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell.

Construction is underway and set to be completed by 2027. This comes as Wake County is experiencing a population boom, including among its 65 and older population. According to the 2024 American Community Survey, 13.7% of the county's population is 65 and older, up from 8.4% in 2011.

"People move to Wake County, people stay in Wake County because of the quality of life. The health options in our community are crucial to that quality of life that we all want and we all expect," Ralls said.