Campbell launching nursing school

Campbell University plans to break ground Wednesday on a building for its new School of Nursing, officials said Monday.

The 70,000-square-foot building, which also will house the school’s physical therapy and medical research programs, will be next to the Leon Levine Hall of Medical Sciences on U.S. Highway 421, less than a mile west of Campbell’s main campus in Buies Creek.

"The new building challenges us to prepare students for new roles in nursing as health care systems transform delivery to patients and populations," Nancy Duffy, director of nursing, said in a statement. "Our students will be the next generation of a new workforce."

Campbell plans to invest $20 million in its new nursing and other health science programs in the next few years, officials said, noting that the Health Sciences Campus will allow students training to be doctors, nurses, pharmacists, physical therapists, physician assistants and administrators to learn alongside each other in a team setting.

The school's programs in nursing, physical therapy and occupational therapy will create an estimated 880 jobs in the Triangle and have a total economic impact of more than $400 million during their first 10 years of operation, according to an independent study conducted by North Carolina State University economist Mike Walden.