The Samford Crimson

Issue date: 9/26/07 Section: News

Samford nursing students will benefit from having a new facility in town where they will be able to perform clinicals.

Over the past year and a half, Samford's campus has had plenty of on-going construction projects. As a result, the University has many new additions to enhance campus-life for both students and visitors.

Now, in downtown Birmingham, part of the University of Alabama at Birmingham campus is also under-going construction and made plans for rebuilding several of its medical facilities.

One such envisioned plan is to build a larger and more advanced replacement hospital for The Callahan Eye Foundation. For Samford's nursing students the facility would hold many exciting learning opportunities.

"This should be an interesting clinical opportunity for our nursing students. Eye surgery is one of the fastest-changing and innovative fields, and the opportunity that we might have to expose students to this area would be wonderful," Associate Professor of Nursing Dr. Janet Alexander said. "This new hospital will also be good for the Birmingham community."

The hospital opened some fifty years ago when Dr. Alston Callahan, an established pioneer in ophthalmology, founded the Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital. Since then, the center had an ever-booming business, becoming especially renown for its incredible breakthroughs in retina surgery.

In order to fund the building plans, UAB officials hope to get funding from charities such as the International Retinal Research Foundation and the Eyesight Foundation of Alabama.
Currently located on University Bvd., the proposed plan is to move the hospital to the UAB Highlands Campus, have twelve operating rooms and allows more room to expand.

In its current location, the hospital has only 9 operating rooms. With the hospital's surgery volume increasing every year, the current location is quickly becoming a tight squeeze.

"Presumably, the larger capacity of the new eye clinic will mean an increase in those types of technicians. Finally, for those students who end up going to UAB medical or optometry schools, the new hospital will mean increased opportunities for training in eye care," Assistant Dean of Biology George Keller said.

"It is really exciting that the Callahan Eye Clinic has to move in order to expand its services. The clinic is known across the U.S., and this expansion will surely lead to an increase in the services offered and the patients seen," junior nursing major Ashley Bonner said. "As a nursing major, it is exciting to know that Birmingham's medical community is continuing to grow, as this offers more job and clinical opportunities for the nursing students at Samford."

Continued...

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