More than 200 community leaders, educators, healthcare professionals, and elected officials gathered Friday afternoon as HealthForce Kentucky celebrated the grand opening of its new Innovation Center on Frederica Street.
The 35,000-square-foot facility is designed to address Kentucky’s ongoing healthcare workforce shortage by expanding access to hands-on clinical training, simulation, and collaborative education programs.
“This Center is a cornerstone in our mission to create pathways that elevate healthcare education and address the critical shortage of providers, especially in our rural communities,” said Dr. Scott Williams, board chair of HealthForce Kentucky and president of Owensboro Community and Technical College.
The project was funded in part through federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars allocated by the Kentucky General Assembly.
State Rep. Suzanne Miles, who played a key role in securing funding for the initiative, said the facility represents tax dollars at work.
“We have a healthcare workforce that is struggling,” Miles said. “If we don’t have a healthy community, we don’t have a community.”
Miles credited healthcare workers who testified before lawmakers about staffing challenges during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
HealthForce Kentucky operates as a public-private partnership bringing together nine higher education institutions, along with regional hospitals, EMS agencies, long-term care facilities, fire departments, and K-12 schools.
Williams said the organization’s collaborative model is what makes the initiative unique.
“When was the last time you saw acute care, long-term care, K through 12, and nine different higher education organizations bring together their collective expertise and work in partnership?” Williams asked the crowd. “That’s what makes this truly one of a kind.”
According to Williams, HealthForce Kentucky has already helped expand healthcare programming across the region, including nursing education, medical laboratory technician training, and a physician assistant program.
Bruce Williams, president and CEO of HealthForce Kentucky, said the Innovation Center allows students to experience high-pressure medical scenarios before encountering them in real clinical environments.
“Anyone working with pediatrics in a clinical environment can experience critical situations and have been there before they actually occur with a patient,” Williams said.
The center includes multiple simulation suites equipped with lifelike silicone mannequins capable of breathing, displaying vital signs, and reacting to treatment. Rooms are outfitted with cameras and microphones that allow instructors to monitor, record, and review student performance.
“Mistakes are problems to be solved,” Williams said. “This uses adult learning theory principles that create psychologically safe learning opportunities.”
Owensboro Health President and CEO Mark Marsh said workforce development has become one of the most pressing challenges facing healthcare providers.
“We serve nearly 700,000 lives across 17 counties,” Marsh said. “Healthcare and education are paramount to what we do.”
Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman said the facility has implications far beyond Owensboro.
“We are now at a 10,000-nurse shortage in Kentucky,” Coleman said. “To know that this building is going to help us chip away at that shortage is remarkable.”
HealthForce Kentucky leaders described the Innovation Center as a long-term investment in healthcare access, workforce development, and regional economic stability.
