It’s taking longer than originally expected, but University College of the North (UCN) still plans to run nursing programs out of a former storefront on Main Street.
When the school announced they would be moving into the building back in 2022, officials with the school hoped it could be open by the winter term in 2023 - over a year later, the facility is still under renovation. UCN representatives said the building is still undergoing work, with the current timetable for that work allowing for classes to potentially start being held later this year.
“UCN is leasing a building on Main Street, which is currently undergoing renovations. We anticipate this work will be completed in the next few months and the program will be relocating in the spring,” said a UCN spokesperson to The Reminder.
The building was the former home of both Nasselquist Jewellers and Sal’s Fitness before both businesses moved out in 2022 - Sal’s Fitness for the former McMunn and Yates building near City Hall on Park Street, Nasselquist going on hiatus after holding short-term pop-up sales in different locations later that year. UCN reached terms to rent the space from Nasselquist and expand the school’s diploma in practical nursing program, using the Main Street building in addition to the school’s current campus on Second Avenue, shared with the Northern Manitoba Mining Academy. UCN reached terms to rent the whole building from its owner to host the program.
In Flin Flon, UCN hosts a two-year diploma in practical nursing program. The school also offers a bachelor of nursing as a four-year program, working in partnership with the Univ. of Manitoba, but only in The Pas and Thompson. In 2021, an influx of provincial funding allowed the number of training seats for the two-year program to double in Flin Flon, going from 14 to 28.
