UCF breaks ground on nursing pavilion in Lake Nona

LAKE NONA, Fla. — Work is underway on the new nursing pavilion at the University of Central Florida.

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On Friday, every shovel marked a new beginning and a remedy for a growing issue in Florida.

“We are going to be able to produce more nurses and help this whole region,” said UCF President Dr. Alexander Cartwright.

The new Dr. Phillips Nursing Pavilion will be located at the UCF College of Nursing at the Academic Health Sciences campus in Lake Nona.

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The building will be 90,000 square feet, which will allow for more state-of-the-art labs to enhance nursing education and two times more space to increase enrollment.

“We know there’s a nursing shortage, and we have outgrown our ability to grow our program in our existing space,” said Dr. Mary Lou Sole, a dean of UCF College of Nursing.

The project will cost nearly $70 million, and the state of Florida committed $43 million to the new building. The rest will be paid for with donations from corporate partners.

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According to the Florida Hospital Association, an additional 2300 registered nurses are needed to enter the workforce each year to address Florida’s projected shortage of 37,400 RNs by 2035.

The Dr. Phillips Nursing Pavilion will allow 150 more graduating nurses every year.

Of the more than 16,000 UCF nurse alumni, more than 85% live and work in Florida, and nearly 60% stay in Central Florida.

UCF plans to accept students for the 2025-26 academic school year.

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