The school, which will be run by Medical City Healthcare, will now need to be approved by the Richardson City Council during its March 27 meeting in order to begin construction. Galen Vice President of Operations Kathleen Dwyer said the college is still expected to be open in late summer.
“We were looking at the shortage we saw in this community alone and knew we needed to be here,” she said. “There will be a shortage of over 13,000 registered nurses in the North and Central Texas area by 2025."
The Richardson campus, which is expected to be Galen’s fourth college in Texas, is projected to have a maximum enrollment of 1,000 students. However, because students are expected to be off-site at clinical rotations and taking online courses, a maximum of 300 students are expected at campus at one time, according to Dwyer. The new 41,000-square-foot campus, which will be located at 1301 W. President George Bush Highway, will feature advanced patient simulation labs and classroom environments to encourage hands-on, practice-based learning.
Galen first announced plans to open a Richardson campus in September, according to a press release. With several programs already available online, Dwyer said students began enrolling for online classes in 2022.
Galen offers a three-year bachelor of science in nursing program that begins online. Galen will also start offering three additional programs at the Richardson campus starting in the 2023-24 school year: an associate degree in nursing program, a licensed vocational nurse to an associate degree bridge option, and a diploma in vocational nursing program.
In addition to alleviating nursing shortages, Dwyer said Galen is helping increase diversity in the nursing field, with half of the college’s students self-identifying as diverse.
“The fact that the Galen student body self-identified as 54% diverse shows that we would be creating a real impact on the profession of nursing,” she said. “That's important to the profession of nursing because today over 84% of registered nurses self-identify as white.”
Richardson is currently home to two nursing colleges: West Coast University and the Chicago School of Nursing. Despite the crowded market, Dwyer said the need for nurses necessitates having another college. According to a 2021 survey, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 203,200 average annual openings for registered nurses over the next 10 years, with employment projected to grow 6%.
Richardson residents interested in attending the school can start enrolling now on Galen’s website at www.galencollege.edu. In addition, Galen offers online bachelor's and master's of science in nursing programs for professionals aspiring to advance their education.
