University of Guam
August 13, 2026
Guam – The University of Guam officially opened its new $9 million Margaret Perez Hattori-Uchima School of Health Nursing Hub during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 12, marking a major investment in healthcare education and Guam’s future nursing workforce.
Behind every exceptional nurse is an exceptional education. For more than two decades, the University of Guam has built a reputation for preparing highly skilled nurses, achieving a first-time NCLEX licensure pass rate of nearly 100% over the past decade and producing graduates in high demand across Guam and beyond. The new Nursing Hub will build on that tradition of excellence by giving students access to advanced simulation, immersive virtual reality, and modern clinical learning environments before they ever care for a live patient.
The state-of-the-art facility represents one of the University’s most significant investments in healthcare education and workforce development and will nearly double the capacity of nursing student admissions starting in 2027, helping address Guam’s growing demand for healthcare professionals.
“The opening of the Nursing Hub represents much more than a new facility; it reflects the University of Guam’s enduring commitment to investing in people who will be a part of building our future,” said Dr. Anita Borja Enriquez, UOG President. “As we embrace Tulos Mo’na — propelling forward together — we continue expanding opportunities for students to thrive in an ever-evolving healthcare landscape. The innovative Nursing Hub prepares future nurses with the skills, experience, and confidence to deliver compassionate, high-quality care.”
Designed to replicate the environment of a modern hospital, the Nursing Hub features 11 hospital simulation beds, high-fidelity patient simulators, immersive virtual reality technology, specialized skills laboratories, modern medical equipment, and expanded simulation space, allowing students to practice complex clinical scenarios before caring for live patients.
“The new Nursing Hub is a symbol of innovation and transformation where students will have access to advanced technology that, with proper and responsible use, develops their clinical, critical thinking, teamwork, and communication skills in a safe learning environment,” said Dr. Yvette Paulino, Dean of the Margaret Perez Hattori-Uchima School of Health.
The facility also includes high-fidelity patient simulators that communicate with students and respond dynamically to nursing interventions, allowing future nurses to assess patients, prioritize care, communicate effectively, and make clinical decisions as patient conditions change. Students will train in a realistic hospital environment equipped with electric hospital beds featuring integrated weighing systems, headwall systems, overbed tables, and healthcare-grade flooring—providing hands-on experience with the same equipment they will use in professional practice.
The Nursing Hub introduces specialized simulation technology that expands learning opportunities across multiple disciplines. Advanced wound care models allow students to practice wound assessment, documentation, pressure injury staging, dressing changes, and evidence-based treatment techniques before entering clinical settings.
One of the facility’s most innovative features is its expanded Virtual Reality (VR) program. Using immersive VR headsets, students can enter realistic healthcare environments, including emergency departments, operating rooms, intensive care units, and labor and delivery suites where they interact with lifelike patients, family members, and healthcare professionals who speak, respond, and react in real time.
“For a number of years, our students’ clinical exposure to maternal labor and delivery has been limited to GMHA, the only civilian hospital with this capacity,” Paulino said. “Our Nursing Hub will supplement our students’ clinical exposure through labor and delivery simulation and VR technology.”
The Nursing Hub also includes geriatric simulation technology that prepares students to care for Guam’s growing manåmko’ population by replicating age-related physical conditions and strengthening students’ ability to provide safe, compassionate, and age-appropriate care.
“Within this space, our students can safely practice essential nursing skills, make clinical decisions, and most importantly, learn from mistakes without risk to live patients,” Paulino said. “The expanded capacity of the Nursing Hub will allow us to nearly double the number of nursing students admitted to our program in 2027, translating into more homegrown nurses prepared to provide safe, compassionate, culturally responsive, and evidence-based care.”
Since 2002, the University of Guam has graduated 639 Bachelor of Science in Nursing graduates and 17 Associate Degree in Nursing graduates, averaging approximately 26 graduates each year. The nursing program has maintained continuing accreditation through the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), reflecting its enduring commitment to rigorous nursing education and student success.
Construction of the Nursing Hub was made possible through a $9 million investment, led by funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, with additional support from the University of Guam, the School of Health, the UOG Nursing Alumni Association, TakeCare Insurance, and other valued partners whose combined investment transformed the vision into reality.
“Every investment we make in our students is an investment in Guam’s future,” Enriquez said. “The graduates who learn in this facility will strengthen our healthcare workforce, improve lives, and help build a healthier, stronger Guam. Whether they choose to serve here at home or across the Pacific and beyond, they will carry the University of Guam’s commitment to excellence into every community they touch.”
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