The Flathead Valley Community College reports that construction of its new nursing center is on schedule and expected to be complete in March.

The 32,000-square-foot Rebecca Chaney Broussard Center for Nursing and Health Science will house FVCC’s practical nursing program, registered nursing program and paramedicine program, in addition to an emergency management program — the only one in Montana.

The facility will also house a physical therapy assistant program, surgical technology program, medical assistant program, anatomy and physiology classes, and a student health clinic that will provide basic health care services at a low cost for students, many of whom do not have health insurance.

The college recognized a need for highly-qualified and well-trained health care workforce to meet Northwest Montana’s growing needs. North Valley Hospital and Kalispell Regional Medical Center, along with other health care providers, estimated at least 350 new associate-level health care positions will be needed by 2015.

FVCC responded by tripling enrollment in its practical nursing program, including initiating a program in Browning; establishing a new emergency management degree program last fall; and launching a new Associate of Science in Nursing program last year.

Ground was broken for the nursing center last year. The Broussard family donated $4 million, and hundreds of community members donated $1.36 million in gifts, pledges and in-kind donations within nine months after the drive began. The nursing center will be the first entirely privately funded building on the FVCC campus.