NMSU breaks ground on O’Donnell Hall, nursing expansion projects

Carlos Andres López, New Mexico State University

LAS CRUCES - New Mexico State University broke ground Friday on two construction projects that support the College of Health, Education and Social Transformation’s mission to grow the allied health workforce and address health disparities across New Mexico.

The work includes an expansion of O’Donnell Hall that will add more than 15,000 square feet of new space to the existing building, originally built in 1968. The addition will house the Kinesiology and Communication Disorders departments and feature state-of-the-art, multidisciplinary labs and an anatomy classroom.

Additional renovations will also take place in the Health and Social Services Building, constructed in 2002. The recently completed expansion and modernization of the Nursing Skills and Simulation Center will undergo further construction to create a new operation room simulation space for the School of Nursing’s anesthesiology program.

The estimated cost for the combined projects is $18.8 million. In November 2022, New Mexico voters approved a general obligation bond that provided $15.5 million for the projects. Earlier that year, the New Mexico Legislature and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham respectively passed and signed House Bill 153, which appropriated and authorized the funding.

During a ground-breaking ceremony Friday outside O’Donnell Hall, Phillip Post, interim dean for the College of HEST, said the projects had been under development since 2017 and that entering the construction phase marked a pivotal moment for the college.

“This state investment will enhance our ability to prepare nursing, communication disorders and kinesiology students with cutting-edge equipment and spaces that reflect real-world health care settings,” Post said. “These programs are essential to addressing New Mexico’s health care workforce needs and improving health outcomes for our communities.”

The plans also call for renovating a portion of the ground floor of O’Donnell Hall to accommodate an expansion of the Papen-Aprendamos Autism Diagnostic Center and house the Edgar R. Garrett Speech and Hearing Center, giving students and faculty additional hands-on opportunities to engage and support families and individuals across Las Cruces and southern New Mexico.

The Speech and Hearing Center has provided speech-language pathology services for people of all ages for more than 60 years. It is operated by the Department of Communication Disorders, graduate students and a team of licensed and certified speech-language pathologists.

The Autism Diagnostic Center opened in 2019. It is the only center in southern New Mexico that provides evaluations for the medical diagnosis of autism and offers evidence-based parent training and support groups for individuals with autism and their families. The center consists of an interdisciplinary team experienced in autism, differential diagnosis and comorbid conditions across all age ranges.

The O’Donnell Hall addition will also house a state-of-the-art anatomy classroom outfitted with anatomage tables and new research space for the Kinesiology and Communication Disorders departments.

Sylvia Y. Acosta, CEO of the NMSU Foundation and NMSU alumna, said the projects represent growth and investment in the Las Cruces community.

“The expansion is more than just about space,” Acosta said during Friday’s ceremony. “It’s about creating opportunities for social mobility by equipping students with high-demand skills. It’s about access to services through our community-focused centers. And it’s about economic development … and preparing health care professionals for this great state.”

The renovations to the Health and Social Services Building will directly address the nursing shortage in New Mexico. The state has a shortage of more than 6,200 registered nurses and clinical nurse specialists. The plans include establishing an operating room suite dedicated to NMSU’s nurse anesthesiologist program, freeing up classrooms currently being used as lab space.

In separate remarks, Ammu Devasthali, chair of the NMSU Board of Regents, thanked New Mexico voters for supporting the projects.

“This project is proof that voting ‘yes’ on GO bond issues can have a transformational effect on the work that we do here at NMSU, in this case specifically at the College of HEST,” Devasthali said. “We grow our own teachers here. We grow our own nurses here. We also grow our own health-related and health-adjacent professionals here. Thank you, Las Cruces and New Mexico, for recognizing the transformational impact this project will make in our state and beyond.”