Transforming McLeod Hall - School of Nursing - University of Virginia

When the 54,000-square-foot
McLeod Hall became home to
UVA’s School of Nursing, no one could
have foreseen the changes coming to
the practice and teaching of nursing.
One of the most fundamental changes
is an enhanced focus on nursing
research—the pursuit of new knowledge
that directly affects patient care and
nursing education. In 1972, when McLeod
opened, the National Institute of Nursing
Research did not yet exist, and nursing
research was largely unrecognized on the
federal level.
Today, research is an integral part of a 21st-century nursing
school. To strengthen its research and education missions, the
UVA School of Nursing is currently undertaking a bold renovation
of McLeod Hall. When completed, McLeod will provide 21stcentury
space that will help shape the future of nursing research
and education.
“We are on the cusp of research excellence,” says Dorrie
Fontaine, dean of the School and Sadie Heath Cabaniss Professor
of Nursing. “Our research receives repeated funding following
peer review in a competitive arena. We are recognized as a top
nursing school, and, like all top nursing schools, we are noted
for the specific research niches we have created. Our research
funding has greatly increased. To remain successful and compete
for top students nationally, we must continue to grow our
nursing research enterprise.”
And it’s not simply a case of maintaining the School’s
reputation. Ultimately, every improvement to McLeod Hall
leads to the improved health of countless individuals and
communities.
“Through our research, we are helping people survive
acute and chronic illnesses and improve their quality of life,”
Fontaine says. “That’s our primary mission. Every day, we make a
difference.”
The Rise of a Research Powerhouse
From 1972 until 2008, when the new Claude Moore Nursing
Education Building was opened, McLeod Hall was the primary space
in which more than 6,100 nursing students were educated. Through
those years, the School’s stature rose to its current ranking among
Beth Merwin directs the Rural Health Care Research Center, where better space will enhance collaboration.
the top 20 nursing schools in the United States. In the past five years,
the School has received approximately $14.6 million in research and
training program funding.
Clearly, School of Nursing faculty have managed to work
around McLeod’s limitations to make significant contributions
to nursing science. Nonetheless, their ongoing ability to advance
nursing research requires a working environment that adequately
supports their innovative research programs.
“Since McLeod was originally built, almost 40 years have
gone by, and technology has tremendously expanded,” says
Elizabeth Merwin, associate research dean and Madge M. Jones
Professor of Nursing. Consequently, she notes, nursing
investigators now face significant limitations as nursing science
becomes more technology driven.
For an example, Merwin points to the Rural Health Care
Research Center, which she directs. One of the center’s goals is
to develop new clinical tools and technologies to improve care
for rural patients. To that end, Merwin is conducting a study to
evaluate rural, low-income women in a rural clinic who receive
colposcopy procedures for early detection of cervical cancer. The
procedures are provided by specially trained nurse practitioners
who are supervised remotely via video technology.
Because there is no dedicated video technology room
in McLeod currently, Merwin must rely on a team of skilled
technicians to set up the equipment every time she wants to
use it. Set-up is further limited by the availability of electrical
sockets for plugging in computers and monitors. “Once McLeod
is renovated, the equipment will be set up on a permanent
basis, the wiring and connections will be better, and we’ll be
able to train more staff to use it,” says Merwin. “The improved
technology will let us develop better care for these patients.”
Virginia Legacy 7 •