Trine University’s main campus is in Angola, IN, however, the growing need for occupations in Health Science in the Fort Wayne area caught Trine’s attention. Trine acted and opened its current Rinker Ross School of Health Sciences Education Center in 2013, quickly seeing potential for more programming opportunities. The only other Surgical Technology program in the area is located at the University of Saint Francis and the demand for Surgical Technologists is high. This expansion and addition to Trine’s programming created a land of opportunities for its Fort Wayne students. The Surgical Technology space shares a building with two other graduate programs from Trine University – Physician Assistant Studies and Physical Therapy.

Trine wanted to replicate the experience that graduates would encounter as surgical technologists. This rare space required months of strategic planning to ensure that every specialty room would emulate the “real life” hospital/surgical feel. Our design team worked hard to retrofit Trine’s dream program space into the existing footprint of the building. The building already had existing offices, operating rooms, preparation spaces and a lounge area, which were all utilized and upgraded and updated to save the University money and to fit their program needs. There are classrooms and lecture areas where the students learn, but most of this planning went into the state-of-the-art operating rooms, pre-operation area, and sterile processing department. In the operating room, students can work alongside surgeons, anesthesiologists, registered nurses and other personnel to provide direct patient care. With access to real-life surgical rooms, students can learn to prep the rooms, ensuring proper equipment, supplies and solutions are available and ready.