UOG opens nursing hub to prepare Guam’s next generation of nurses

Photo courtesy of UOG

By Pacific Island Times News Staff

University of Guam officials today cut the ribbon to signal the official opening of a new $9 million nursing hub on the Mangilao campus, marking a significant investment in healthcare education.

The Margaret Perez Hattori-Uchima School of Health Nursing Hub is a state-of-the-art facility that will boost capacity for nursing student admissions and workforce development to help address Guam’s growing demand for healthcare professionals, UOG said.

“The opening of the nursing hub represents much more than a new facility;

 it reflects the University of Guam’s enduring commitment to investing in people who will be a part of building our future,” said Dr. Anita Borja Enriquez, UOG president.

 “As we embrace Tulos Mo’na—propelling forward together—we continue expanding opportunities for students to thrive in an ever-evolving healthcare landscape. The innovative nursing hub prepares future nurses with the skills, experience and confidence to deliver compassionate, high-quality care," she added.

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Dr. Yvette Paulino, dean of the Margaret Perez Hattori-Uchima School of Health, said the facility's expanded capacity is projected to double the nursing student admissions beginning in 2027.

Designed to replicate the environment of a modern hospital, the nursing hub features 11 hospital simulation beds, high-fidelity patient simulators, immersive virtual reality technology, specialized skills laboratories, modern medical equipment and expanded simulation space, allowing students to practice complex clinical scenarios before caring for live patients.

“The new nursing hub is a symbol of innovation and transformation where students will have access to advanced technology that, with proper and responsible use, develops their clinical, critical thinking, teamwork and communication skills in a safe learning environment,” Paulino said.

The facility also includes high-fidelity patient simulators that communicate with students and respond dynamically to nursing interventions, allowing future nurses to assess patients, prioritize care, communicate effectively and make clinical decisions as patient conditions change.

Students will train in a realistic hospital environment equipped with electric hospital beds featuring integrated weighing systems, headwall systems, overbed tables, and healthcare-grade flooring—providing hands-on experience with the same equipment they will use in professional practice.

The nursing hub introduces specialized simulation technology that expands learning opportunities across multiple disciplines. Advanced wound care models allow students to practice wound assessment, documentation, pressure injury staging, dressing changes, and evidence-based treatment techniques before entering clinical settings.

One of the facility’s most innovative features is its expanded Virtual Reality program. Using immersive VR headsets, students can enter realistic healthcare environments, including emergency departments, operating rooms, intensive care units, and labor and delivery suites where they interact with lifelike patients, family members, and healthcare professionals who speak, respond, and react in real time.

“For a number of years, our students’ clinical exposure to maternal labor and delivery has been limited to GMHA, the only civilian hospital with this capacity,” Paulino said. “Our nursing hub will supplement our students’ clinical exposure through labor and delivery simulation and VR technology.”

The nursing hub also includes geriatric simulation technology that prepares students to care for Guam’s growing manåmko’ population by replicating age-related physical conditions and strengthening students’ ability to provide safe, compassionate, and age-appropriate care.

“Within this space, our students can safely practice essential nursing skills, make clinical decisions, and most importantly, learn from mistakes without risk to live patients,” Paulino said, adding that the new facility will produce "more homegrown nurses prepared to provide safe, compassionate, culturally responsive and evidence-based care.”

UOG noted that for more than two decades, it has produced highly skilled nurses, achieving a first-time NCLEX licensure pass rate of nearly 100 percent and producing graduates in high demand across Guam and the region.

Construction of the Nursing Hub was funded through grants from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, with additional support from the University of Guam, the School of Health, the UOG Nursing Alumni Association, TakeCare Insurance and other partners.

Since 2002, the University of Guam has graduated 639 Bachelor of Science in Nursing graduates and 17 Associate Degree in Nursing graduates, averaging approximately 26 graduates each year.

The nursing program has maintained continuing accreditation through the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, reflecting its enduring commitment to rigorous nursing education and student success.

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