NWCCD Receives Grant for Health Science Center

The Northern Wyoming Community College District has received a $1.5 million federal grant to improve and expand the college district’s Health Sciences Center at Sheridan College.

The award, from the Economic Development Administration, was announced Wednesday by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross.

The new Health Sciences Center will train students for healthcare jobs with the Indian Health Services as well as private healthcare facilities.

According to information from Ross, the EDA grant will be matched with over $7 million in state and local funds. Ross said renovating the college district’s Health Sciences Center will help fill over 1,400 current and anticipated medical positions in Wyoming.

According to a release from Washington D.C., the project will provide a state-of-the-art facility to house the college district’s training programs for nursing, certified nursing assistance, massage therapy and dental hygiene.

The funding is expected to help catalyze private investment in a nearby Opportunity Zone. Created by President Donald Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Opportunity Zones are spurring economic development in economically-distressed communities nationwide.