Community support was on full display this week as Western Nevada College celebrated its Nursing Renovation Project on the Fallon campus — even as Northern Nevada experienced its biggest winter storm of the season. 
Despite the weather, community leaders, college partners and campus representatives gathered to recognize WNC’s continued investment in expanding access to nursing education in rural Nevada and strengthening our regional healthcare workforce. The strong turnout was a powerful reminder of how deeply our community values local healthcare training and opportunity.
When complete, the upgraded space inside the Fallon campus’ Piñon Building will feature modern clinical training areas, advanced simulation labs and dedicated study and testing rooms. These enhancements will provide nursing students in Fallon with greater access to high-quality, hands-on learning close to home — helping prepare the next generation of nurses to serve our rural communities.
We were honored to welcome Fallon Mayor Ken Tedford; John Coombs, NAS Fallon XO; Mike Berney, Churchill Community Hospital Foundation Board member; Kelly Frost, Fallon City Councilwoman; Eric Blakey, Churchill County Commissioner District 3; Lucy Carnahan, Executive Director of the Fallon Chamber of Commerce; Angela Vierra and Eric Grimes of Oasis Academy; Dr. Sue Segura of Churchill County High School; Rochelle Tisdale, WNC Foundation Board member; Sean Rowe, Deputy City Attorney; and Travis Coombs and Keith LaRue of Core Construction.
WNC Executive Team members Dr. J. Kyle Dalpe, Niki Gladys, Dr. Dana Ryan, Coral Lopez and Melody Duley also joined the celebration, underscoring the college’s commitment to expanding opportunities for students and addressing workforce needs across the region.
This important project is made possible through support from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and generous philanthropic investments from the William N. Pennington Foundation and the E.L. Cord Foundation, provided through the WNC Foundation.
Together, we are building a stronger healthcare future for rural Nevada — one student, one nurse, and one community at a time.