Newswise — (NEW YORK, NY, Oct. 22, 2014) – Mayor Bill de Blasio has declared Oct. 22 “Columbia University School of Nursing Day” in New York City. The official proclamation celebrates Columbia Nursing breaking ground on its new state-of-the-art facility in Washington Heights.

“This new building will allow the school to provide even better training to its students, offering them the chance to learn in realistic clinical settings and encouraging greater collaboration between fellow students, instructors, and mentors,” de Blasio said in the proclamation. “I applaud Columbia Nursing on this terrific accomplishment, and look forward to its dedicated faculty and talented students continuing to improve the health of people across our city and beyond.”

The new building will be constructed at 168th Street and Audubon Avenue, a few blocks from its current facility, located at 617 W. 168th Street in the Washington Heights neighborhood in Upper Manhattan. Among the seven-story structure’s many features will be a sunlit atrium lobby, rooftop garden terrace, and a two-floor, state-of-the-art simulation center equipped with lifelike mannequins that imitate real-life medical conditions giving students the opportunity to learn skills in a safe, educational environment.

“The future of nursing and nursing education will soon have a new address,” said Bobbie Berkowitz, PhD, RN, FAAN, Dean of the Columbia University School of Nursing and Senior Vice President of the Columbia University Medical Center. “Our new building brings renewed focus to our education and research mission at a time when advanced practice nurses are playing an ever-greater role in the health-care delivery system.”

The new building, designed by award-winning architectural firm CO|FXFOWLE to achieve LEED Silver, will also feature flexible areas accommodating either large or small group learning, as well as students seeking space for individual study.

Columbia University School of Nursing, founded in 1892, is one of the first nursing schools to offer the clinical practice doctorate, the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. A leader in nursing research, the school also has the nation’s oldest continuous program in nurse midwifery.

Columbia University School of Nursing is part of the Columbia University Medical Center, which also includes the College of Physicians & Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, and the College of Dental Medicine. With close to 100 full-time faculty and 600 students, the School of Nursing is dedicated to educating the next generation of nurse leaders in education, research, and clinical care. The School has pioneered advanced practice nursing curricula and continues to define the role of nursing and nursing research through its PhD program which prepares nurse scientists, and its Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), the first clinical practice doctorate in the nation. Among the clinical practice areas shaped by the School’s research are the reduction of infectious disease and the use of health care informatics to improve health and health care. For more information, please visit: www.nursing.columbia.edu.