$1 million from Monforts jumpstarts campaign for new building

The $18 million building will house the Allied Health and Sciences programs and is expected to be completed by Fall 2007.

Conceptual plans call for 65,000-plus square feet of technologically enhanced laboratories, classrooms, offices and common areas that will be equipped with wireless Internet connection.

Academic programs including Nursing, Certified Nurse Aide, Surgical Technology, Radiological Technology, Emergency Medical Services, Medical Assisting, and Natural Sciences including Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Anatomy and Physiology will be housed in the new building.

“Our Allied Health and Sciences programs have nearly tripled in size and scope since 2003,” President Marsi Liddell said. “This new construction will provide an appropriate venue for our emergent health professionals, the majority of whom – nearly 80 percent – stay right here in Northern Colorado.”

The cutting-edge laboratories are designed as interchangeable simulated working environments, such as an emergency room, the back of an ambulance and a typical home, where first responders often find themselves assisting patients.

The building will be funded through certificates of participation and philanthropic donations.

A $1 million donation from the Monfort Family Foundation has been pledged as a matching donation, which will provide for technological enhancements, including digital X-ray equipment in the Radiology department, simulated patients for the Nursing and EMS programs, and video equipment installed throughout the laboratories to provide students with immediate debriefing opportunities after running skills tests.

“I was ecstatic to hear that Aims took the bull by the horns,” said Dick Monfort. “It was a no-brainer to do this. This is a great use of our money.”