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April 8, 2008
WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY OPENS NEL BOLGER, R.N. NURSING LAB, A STATE-OF-THE-ART CLINICAL SIMULATION LABORATORY
—High-tech nursing lab was created with support from Bolger Foundation
William Paterson University in Wayne has enhanced the ability of its nursing students to learn in a technologically advanced facility that reflects actual hospital and clinical environments with the opening of its new state-of-the-art Nel Bolger, R.N. Nursing Laboratory.
The high-tech patient simulation laboratory suite was created with a landmark gift of $500,000 from David F. Bolger, through The Bolger Foundation of Ridgewood, N.J. The laboratory is named in memory of Bolger’s aunt, Nel Bolger, a Dutch nurse and graduate of Johns Hopkins Nursing School who was a leader in the underground movement in Holland during the Nazi occupation.
“This state-of-the-art simulation laboratory will allow our students to enhance their proficiency with decision-making and procedures in a sophisticated, simulated clinical facility,” says Julie Bliss, professor of nursing and chair of William Paterson’s nursing department. “We are proud to be a leader in the trend of providing nursing students with a learning environment that mirrors a clinical setting so that they are prepared to respond immediately in the field caring for actual patients.”
William Paterson’s facility is unique in that it includes specialized communications infrastructure that monitors and records simulated clinical procedures for later analysis by students and faculty. The laboratory suite, located in the University’s Department of Nursing, contains two simulation labs, one geared toward training undergraduate students in intensive care unit scenarios, the other toward teaching physical assessment skills to graduate-level nurses in a simulated doctor’s office/clinic. The labs feature computerized patient simulation mannequins, a control station for operating the mannequins, robotic digital cameras to record students practicing patient care techniques, television screens to display the lab sessions, one-way mirrors to allow viewing by professors, and editing facilities for creating electronic DVDs for evaluations of student progress. Students can also make the DVDs available to demonstrate their experience to prospective employers.
Mr. Bolger’s decision to fund this initiative is consistent with his long-term, deep commitment to “improving the quality of life for all people,” inspired by the example of his Dutch parent émigrés. “My parents came to the United States to create a better life for themselves, and they taught me the value of hard work,” says Mr. Bolger. “The nursing program at William Paterson provides students with opportunities for employment in a satisfying, lifelong career in a field that is vitally important and that contributes to improving the human condition and I am proud to be able to help support those who will ultimately be the lifeblood of our hospitals and other healthcare facilities.”
William Paterson University has long been dedicated to leadership in nursing education. Its Department of Nursing, which is nationally accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, offers a number of bachelor’s and master’s degrees. One of the largest nursing programs in New Jersey, the program enrolled 383 undergraduate and 27 graduate students as of fall 2007. Programs include a bachelor of science degree in nursing, an accelerated track for students with a bachelor’s degree in another discipline, a track for registered nurses seeking a bachelor’s degree, a master of science in nursing that prepares students to function as advanced clinical practice nurses, a certificate program in adult nurse practitioner who already possess a master’s degree, and a school nurse program.
Mr. Bolger is Owner and President of Bolger & Co., Inc., a real estate/investment firm located in Ridgewood, N.J., with real estate holdings throughout the United States. He served as Chairman of the holding company of the Farmers and Merchants State Bank, which was recently acquired by Cascade Bancorp, where he now serves as Director Emeritus.
He is also President of The Bolger Foundation, and through his Foundation his philanthropy has focused often, though not exclusively, on the needs of young people, and senior citizens, while always being committed to the Foundation's mission of “enhanced quality of life for people of all ages, without prejudice or restriction to age, sex, financial status or social background.” He has made numerous leadership gifts to organizations in New Jersey, including The Valley Hospital, West Bergen Mental Healthcare, the Ridgewood, Glen Rock and Midland Park Libraries, Christian Health Care Center, Ramapo Ridge Psychiatric Center, Holland Christian Home, The Children’s Therapy Center of Fair Lawn, William Paterson University School of Nursing, Northfield Mount Hermon School in Mount Hermon, Massachusetts, Bethany Christian Services, The Bergen County Chapter of Community Blood Center Services, The YMCA of Ridgewood, Sarasota Memorial Hospital and In Stride Equine Assisted Therapy (Therapeutic Riding Center) in Nokomis, Florida. His current project is the remodeling of “The Barn” in Midland Park, which when completed will be an eco-friendly“Green” Community Center for youth and senior citizens. Mr. Bolger also spearheaded the moving and the remodeling of “The Lester Stable” in Ridgewood, updating The School House Museum in Paramus, upgrading The Ridgewood Post Office with new fencing, landscaping, sidewalks, restoration of the eagle above the main entrance on Ridgewood Avenue as well as the installation of the J. Seward Johnson sculpture “The Postman” on Ridgewood Avenue and installed 14 flagpoles in The Village of Ridgewood. He provided a challenge grant to William Paterson to initiate the Hobart Manor Revitalization Campaign, which seeks to refurbish Hobart Manor. The oldest building on campus, Hobart Manor is listed on the National Register for Historic Places, and was last refurbished in 1985.
William Paterson University, one of the nine state colleges and universities in New Jersey, offers 38 undergraduate and 19 graduate programs through five colleges: Arts and Communication, the Cotsakos College of Business, Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Science and Health. Located on 370 hilltop acres in Wayne, the University enrolls nearly 10,500 students and provides housing for nearly 2,300 students. The institution’s 373 full-time faculty are highly distinguished and diverse scholars and teachers, many of whom are recipients of prestigious awards and grants from the Fulbright Program, the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Science Foundation.
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