A partnership between Mississippi’s workforce development arm and Hinds Community College will serve to educate and train more students for occupations in high-demand healthcare fields.
AccelerateMS announced Thursday that it is supporting an expansion of health sciences training capacity at Hinds that will allow the school to welcome an additional 480 students over the next three years, including 232 seats in traditional degree programs and 248 in short-term workforce training programs. The goal of the expansion is to create additional pathways for Mississippians to enter critical healthcare careers.
To support this growth, AccelerateMS is investing nearly $3 million as part of a broader $53 million project at the college’s Rankin Campus in Pearl. The school’s new 160,000-square-foot, four-story health sciences facility is scheduled to open in fall 2026, and is expected to modernize training environments while providing the space needed to scale healthcare workforce programs.
“This expansion is about making sure training capacity exists where demand is greatest,” AccelerateMS Executive Director Dr. Courtney Taylor said. “Investments like this allow us to expand access to high-quality training and strengthen the talent pipeline for healthcare providers across the region.”
The project will increase training capacity across fields that are in dire need for new workers: Associate Degree Nursing, Practical Nursing, Health Care Assistant, Dental Assisting, Diagnostic Medical Sonography, Emergency Medical Services, Physical Therapist Assistant, Respiratory Care Technology, Radiologic Technology, and Surgical Technology.
A key feature of the project is the development of a state-of-the-art stimulation center designed to replicate real-world clinical environments and enhance hands-on training. The facility will also include four new nursing skills labs equipped with hospital-grade infrastructure, advanced audiovisual technology for simulation review, and 48 hospital beds with headwall units that mirror acute-care settings.
“Mississippi continues to face shortages across critical healthcare fields,” said Dr. Ginger Robbins, Vice President of Workforce Development and Governmental Affairs at Hinds Community College. “This project increases training capacity and ensures students train on industry-standard equipment so they are prepared to enter the healthcare workforce.”