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Sanford Heimarck School of Health Professions
Now more than ever, Concordia recognizes the need to expand on the college’s strong history of educating sought-after health professionals and administrators.
In June 2021, Concordia announced the School of Health Professions would be renamed the Sanford Heimarck School of Health Professions to honor Sanford Health’s support of Concordia’s health professions education and its efforts to meet the critical workforce needs of the region.
Sanford’s historic commitment to Concordia over the next 10 years invests in Concordia’s health professions programs to help meet the rising need for a health professions workforce and improves the health and well-being of our surrounding community. In addition to this defining gift, Sanford has also donated the land and building just south of Concordia’s campus that will house the school after renovations are complete in 2023.
There is currently a fundraising effort underway to raise the full $8.5 million needed to complete the renovations.
The building will be named the Heimarck Center in honor of Dr. Theodore Heimarck, who founded Concordia’s healthcare administration program in 1966 — the first undergraduate program of its kind built on a liberal arts education.
The new Heimarck Center will provide immersive learning experiences for students. The new labs and learning spaces will allow students to practice and learn with state-of-the-art technologies and methods. These new facilities will include:
• Nursing Simulation Lab • Home Health Simulation Lab • Nutrition Assessment Lab • Human Performance Lab • Telehealth Space • Healthcare Leadership Boardroom • Interview and Consultation Rooms • Interactive Interdisciplinary Spaces
Concordia recognizes the importance of offering programs that provide interprofessional, interdisciplinary, and team-based approaches for students as they prepare for future careers in the health professions.
“The school prepares students for a diverse range of health-related career paths — from leadership to direct care,” says Dr. Cynthia Carver ’74, inaugural dean of
the Sanford Heimarck School of Health Professions. “The curriculum is designed to emphasize collaborative ways of learning that mirror the team-based approach used in most health professions organizations today.”
All programs in the Sanford Heimarck School of Health Professions have a strong grounding in the liberal arts. Within the school, there are undergraduate, postbaccalaureate, and graduate programs including:
CLINICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE EXERCISE SCIENCE
NUTRITION/DIETETICS
HEALTHCARE LEADERSHIP
NURSING (B.S.N.) PRE-HEALTH PROFESSIONS
Pre-Athletic Training Pre-Chiropractic Pre-Dentistry Pre-Medicine Pre-Occupational Therapy Pre-Optometry Pre-Pharmacy Pre-Physical Therapy Pre-Physician Assistant Pre-Veterinary Medicine
SOCIAL WORK
Sanford Heimarck School of Health Professions programs and cutting-edge learning opportunities in enhanced facilities will ensure students are ready for the workforce as they apply their classroom learning in internships and clinical experiences. With interprofessional and interdisciplinary education as the guiding vision, students will be prepared to ethically and innovatively lead diverse teams and multifaceted health systems.
NEW 12-MONTH ACCELERATED NURSING PROGRAM
To meet the rising need for nurses in our region and to improve the health and quality of life for our communities, Concordia’s new 12-month accelerated nursing program offers a fast-track to licensure as an RN (Registered Nurse).
“Concordia is excited to help rebuild the workforce and give our nation’s nurses some much needed help,” says Rebecca Amundsen, executive director of Concordia’s Graduate & Continuing Studies program.
This intensive program is ideal for students who have a non-nursing bachelor’s degree and wish to pursue a career in nursing. Upon successful completion of the program, graduates are eligible to take the Nursing Candidate Licensure Examination (NCLEX) to become an RN and meet the qualifications for public health nurse registration in Minnesota.
More than 97% of our students pass the NCLEX-RN the first time, and graduates experience a 100% job placement rate within one year of completing the program.
After a national search, Dr. Gwen Wagstrom Halaas ’75 was named the new dean of the Sanford Heimarck School of Health Professions.
Halaas most recently served as vice chancellor of Academic Affairs and professor with tenure at Washington State University Health Services in Spokane, Wash. Prior to Washington State University, Halaas held leadership and faculty positions at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences and the University of Minnesota Medical School and Academic Health Center. Halaas earned her medical degree at Harvard and trained in family medicine at the University of Minnesota and received an MBA in healthcare from the University of St. Thomas.
This marks a return home for Halaas, who grew up in Fargo-Moorhead and graduated in 1975 from Concordia. In 2021, she was honored with the Alumni Achievement Award and says that after reflecting on that experience she realized Concordia is where she wants to be.
