Well, the school is now officially open: http://www.kitv.com/r/25047363/detail.html

Chaminade University dedicated a nurse education center Thursday night for its brand new nursing program.

Many recent nursing graduates are unable to find work in Hawaii because the recession forced many older nurses to stay on the job, so a predicted nursing shortage fueled by retiring baby boomers never materialized in the islands.

Chaminade nursing officials said the nursing shortage is finally expected to hit in Hawaii five years from now, a year after its first class of nurses graduates.

The 78 members of Chaminade's first nursing class ever gathered at the university Thursday evening, joined by school supporters and donors to celebrate the inauguration of Chaminade's nursing program.

"We as students in the first nursing class can really pioneer the way towards excellence in nursing education," said Catherine Higa of Makiki, a member of the first nursing class.

Higa chose Chaminade because, as a Catholic institution, it includes Christian values along with scientific and clinical skills, "addressing not only the physiological aspects of a patient but also the emotional and spiritual," she said.

Chaminade spent $2.4 million renovating Henry Hall to turn it into a state-of-the-art nursing education facility. Half the money came from a federal grant and most of the other half, $1 million, was donated by Dentist Dr. Lawrence Tseu, in memory of his late wife.

"With people living longer and older, we need that kind of a care that a nurse can provide," Tseu said.

The more than 6,000 square-foot center includes 16 patient beds, two labs, classrooms, a computer lab and three patient rooms. There are numerous artificial patients who breathe, bleed, and even have convulsions.

"It's a safe and comfortable way for students to learn with mannequins that can have very human-like responses, at least physiologically," said Stephanie Genz, Chaminade’s dean of nursing.

The high-tech mannequins come in adult and kid sizes to get nursing students used to the challenges of dealing with patients of different ages.

Chaminade has contracts for its nursing students to do clinical training at more than a half dozen facilities, including Queens Medical Center in town, Castle Medical Center in Kailua, Wahiawa General Hospital, Hospice Hawaii, St. Francis Healthcare System (which includes two hospices), Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center and the state health department.

That in-hospital training is key for nursing students to develop relationships with those potential employers who could hire them when the predicted nursing shortage hits Hawaii in 2015, Genz said.

"Our first graduating class will be in 2014. So we believe, we hope the economy will be back and strong and there will be more than sufficient jobs here in Hawaii," Genz said.

Recent nursing grads in Hawaii said local hospitals have not been hiring graduates without nursing experience in recent years.

Partly because of the recession, the graduates said hospitals have been reluctant to spend the tens of thousands of dollars and months of time to give new nurses further in-hospital training. So they've been hiring out-of-state nurses with a few years of experience instead of local recent grads.

Some recent nursing grads have stayed in Hawaii and settled for lower-paying nurses jobs in nursing homes or government facilities and some of them have even taken nurses aides’ positions just to make ends meet.

Others have left the state for places like Irvine, Calif., and Tyler, Texas, to work in hospitals that are hiring nurses straight out of school.