City of Deltona Needs Are Answered with New DSC Campus Building

Daytona State opened a near $20 million building located at the Deltona Campus, August 22, 2024. It is home to the nursing program, CNC machining program, and the brand new diagnostic medical sonography program.

The idea for this project came about in 2018, during the nursing shortage increase, which then worsened due to COVID-19. Building it in Deltona was decided due to the Halifax Health Medical Center of Deltona that was being built in the area at the time. AdventHealth Fish Memorial in Orange City was expanding as well, so there would be more of a demand for local nurses.

Deltona currently has the largest population in Volusia County as of 2022 with 97,267 residents. Daytona State took that into account when making the executive decision on the location.

During preparations for the project, it was requested from the local hospitals to have more sonographers. DSC created the diagnostic medical sonography program following those requests.

“Nationally the median pay is $80,000 a year,” Associate Vice President, Colin Chesley said. “They’re generally graduating and making about $75,000 in our area with an associate’s degree.”

Pine Ridge High School has a manufacturing program, which influenced having a CNC machining program in Deltona to directly meet the demand of the upcoming students. It gave Daytona State the opportunity to add a technical program to the west side of the county. 

“We call it the sister building to the one in Palm Coast,” DSC President Dr. Thomas LoBasso said. “We have the same architects, so they didn’t have to design a building from scratch.”

DSC used Schenkel Shultz architects for this project. The way it differentiates from other designs is the blueprint for the labs and simulation rooms. 

Previously, Deltona had one simulation lab that had to be tightly scheduled and shared. Now there are eight rooms that can run simulations. 

The nursing simulation labs have been created like never before at DSC. With the use of AI, students can now fully simulate different scenarios in how to save and care for a patient.

“Make your mistakes, figure out your flow and how it works for you,” Assistant Professor Elizabeth Boone said. “This is where you are not going to hurt anybody.”

The simulation can go from a dropping heart rate to giving birth. The professors can change the simulation however they please, whether that be crying, screaming, saying “ouch”, it is all possible. They can also wear headsets to communicate with the AI during the simulation, that way they can tell the AI what to say to the students.

The CNC machining program has multiple labs in the new building. Funding went into the high tech machinery that can make vast creations out of metal.

Diagnostic medical sonography can be found on the second floor with simulation rooms, labs, and classrooms, along with the rest of the nursing rooms. These two programs are now able to collaborate and create even more real-life scenarios for these students to be ready after graduation.

The three programs in Building 2 are not the only new programs that will be newly seen at Deltona in the upcoming semesters. Welding will fill in for the space previously occupied by the nursing program, which is expected to arrive in Spring 2025.

It doesn’t end there, DSC is in works on other projects such as Residence Hall Phase II, an emergency services center in Deland, airframe and powerplant building, and an all-purpose field.

More news to come on the upcoming DSC developments.  

The Deltona Campus now has a student lounge, bookstore, and a grab-n-go station all within feet of each other.
Photos by Teia Williams