DENVER — Colorado is experiencing a shortage of health care professionals. Metropolitan State University Denver is hoping to put a dent in that shortage with a new state-of-the-art facility.

After Marissa Schreiner saw how nurses cared for her family during her dad’s health struggles, she knew it was the career she wanted to pursue.

“I just wanted to be a part of that impact and make other families and other patients feel that same way,” said Schreiner, a junior at MSU Denver.

Schreiner and her classmates are now able to train in a hospital-like environment without stepping foot off campus, thanks to the university’s new training facility.

“I did have a moment of, ‘Whoa, am I at the hospital or am I at my teaching job?’ So it does feel very real in here,” said MSU Department Chair of Nursing Jenny Allert.

Allert said students used to run through patient simulations in storage rooms. They now have access to an 18,000-square-foot space that includes eight simulation rooms. The facility also includes improved technology, including mannequins that simulate birth and a working ambulance bay.

“Our students are able to be in an environment that feels like the real world [and] practice those skills. So when they’re in the real world, they can react and do and give the care they need to give,” explained Allert.

The university hopes the technology boosts enrollment, particularly with students who want to stay and work in Colorado.

In its most recent Talent Pipeline Report, the Colorado Workforce Development Council estimated that the state needs more than 7,000 nurses. That shortage is expected to grow to more than 10,000 registered nurses by 2026.

“Beyond that, we face a lack of representation… data repeatedly supports improved outcomes when patient and provider have shared racial and ethnic backgrounds,” said Dean Hope Szypulski of the College of Health and Human Sciences.

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“I think has made all of us just even more excited to get to work and hopefully be better nurses in the future,” said Schreiner.