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New Jersey State Senators Benjie Wimberly (NJ-35) and Andrew Zwicker (NJ-16), vice chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee, toured William Paterson University’s state-of-the-art Nursing Simulation Laboratory with University President Richard J. Helldobler last week, highlighting the State’s support for healthcare workforce development and the University’s expanding leadership role in allied health education.
The Nel Bolger RN Simulation Lab at William Paterson’s School of Nursing, home to the largest nursing enrollment on any college campus in New Jersey, was recently upgraded thanks to a special $1 million New Jersey State appropriation secured for William Paterson by then-Assemblyman, now Senator, Wimberly.
“I was proud to secure $1 million in funding to support the innovative Nursing Simulation Lab at William Paterson University because investing in this type of hands-on, high-impact learning is an investment in New Jersey’s healthcare future,” said Senator Wimberly. “This state-of-the-art space gives nursing students the opportunity to train in realistic clinical environments, strengthen critical skills, and graduate fully prepared to serve patients and communities across our state. William Paterson’s commitment to innovation and workforce development is exactly the kind of leadership our higher education institutions should be advancing.”
“As Vice Chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee, I strongly believe that advancing learning environments like William Paterson University’s Nursing Simulation Lab is essential to strengthening New Jersey’s healthcare system,” said Senator Zwicker. “These state-of-the-art facilities support academic excellence, workforce development, and the preparation of highly skilled nurses who are ready to meet the evolving needs of our state.”
“We are grateful to Senator Wimberly and Senator Zwicker for their continuing support of William Paterson, in particular, and for New Jersey public higher education, in general,” said William Paterson University President Richard J. Helldobler. “We especially appreciate their taking the time to visit our campus and see firsthand the impact this support is having on our School of Nursing, which produces more nursing graduates than any other single campus in the state. These graduates are vital to the health of our state’s residents and economy, and the upgrade to our Simulation Lab—funded with a $1 million appropriation that Senator Wimberly secured—will ensure that they are learning on the kind of state-of-the-art training technology and hospital-grade equipment that mirror the modern healthcare environments in which they will be working.”
William Paterson’s School of Nursing uses the simulation lab to provide immersive, hospital-grade training that mirrors real clinical environments and allows students to practice complex medical scenarios before working with patients. The senators’ visit underscored how modernized academic facilities and hands-on learning environments are helping prepare students to meet New Jersey’s growing healthcare needs.
At the heart of the simulation lab are advanced Elevate Healthcare simulators—lifelike, wireless “patients” that can breathe, blink, bleed, speak, and respond dynamically to treatment. The technology allows faculty to simulate a wide range of medical conditions, from respiratory distress to cardiac arrest, and provides real-time feedback during CPR and other procedures.
A portion of the state funding also supported technological upgrades for the University’s biology and speech-language pathology departments, reinforcing William Paterson’s broader strategic growth across allied health disciplines.
That growth includes the $40 million, state-funded Recreation and Health Sciences Center currently under construction on campus. The project will more than double the size of the existing Sports and Recreation Center and create a new academic hub for students in sports medicine, exercise physiology, athletic training, and related health sciences programs. Funded through the New Jersey Educational Facilities Authority, the facility is scheduled for completion in 2027.
