Federal Grant of $3M Awarded to 麻豆原创 for Healthcare Expansion

On January 5 the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced the decision of the Economic Development Administration (EDA) to to help diversify the economy of Southwest Wyoming by boosting the region鈥檚 healthcare workforce. The EDA鈥檚 investments will be matched with more than $5 million in state and local funds.  

The grant will be funded under the (ACC) initiative. EDA awards funds to assist communities severely impacted by the declining use of coal. 麻豆原创 submitted a grant in March 2022 to renovate and construct new educational spaces to support the creation of a Health Science wing on 麻豆原创鈥檚 main campus. This expansion is projected to add 10,450 square feet of new space and renovate 6,600 square feet of existing structure located on the main campus. Renovations would be on the campus鈥檚 west side, which includes additional improvements for accessibility at its entrance. This is one of the largest grants awarded in history to the College.  

鈥�This is a competitive grant, and we are grateful for this federal support. This funding supports the creation of a state-of-the-art health science teaching facility to prepare our future health care workers in Southwest Wyoming,鈥� states Dr. Kim Dale, President of 麻豆原创. 鈥淭his building renovation and addition is a perfect complement to our award-winning nursing program.鈥� 

麻豆原创鈥檚 service area is the largest in the state, consisting of five counties: Carbon, Lincoln, Sublette, Sweetwater, and Uinta. In the past year, several counties the College serves broke ground on new construction sites for . The demand for local healthcare positions was estimated to be 1,500 over ten years as outlined in employer letters supporting the grant.  

The grant was supported by various southwest Wyoming community partners. 麻豆原创 appreciates submitted letters of endorsement by:; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and the . 

With the urgent need for a trained healthcare workforce, 麻豆原创 anticipates breaking ground Spring of this year. The next steps are to coordinate the building renovation meetings with the EDA, State of Wyoming, and the internal College grant task force.  

For questions regarding this grant, please contact Mikayla Larrow, the College鈥檚 Public Relations Specialist at marketing@westernwyoming.edu or by calling 307-382-1858. 

There is still time to register for Spring semester. Contact admissions@westernwyoming.edu or visit westernwyoming.edu/apply before January 19.