Beal University Canada has completed an institutional review with the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission and is now undergoing a programming approval process for a Bachelor of Science in Nursing program which it plans to offer partly based out of the Sackville Memorial Hospital (SMH).
Horizon recently published an update on the physical changes happening at the hospital to make room for Beal classrooms. Some services, such as diabetic education and respiratory therapy services, have been moved out of the hospital and into the Tantramar Community Health Centre, a privately-owned building across the parking lot from the hospital. Other services will be relocated within the hospital itself, and Horizon says it has already completed renovations to make the relocations work.
There are still some services in the former Queens Unit of the hospital that will need to be relocated to make way for Beal University, according to the Horizon update.
Horizon emphasized that all services will remain within the Tantramar Community.
You can read the full update from Horizon here.
Beal University Canada president Holly McKnight says if all goes as planned, nursing students will start clinical labs and classes at the SMH in January 2024.
McKnight is hosting a meet and greet for potential new students in Sackville on Monday. She’ll be at the Sackville Visitor Information Centre from 9am to 6pm on July 17, 2023 to answer questions and share information.
Beal is currently recruiting Canadian students to its American program, where there are 100 spots available with tuition subsidies from the provincial government. Students in the American Beal nursing program will be able to transfer to the Canadian program in future. Beal runs a 32 month degree program involving online courses in the first year, followed by in-person learning in subsequent years.
McKnight couldn’t say how many of the 100 subsidized spots are filled so far, but said they were going fast. McKnight also couldn’t give an estimate on the number of nursing students expected to be taking classes in Sackville come January 2024. She says the Beal program is not like a traditional university program, but rather is more flexible in scheduling and has regular intakes over the course of the year.
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