Lehman College unveiled a major upgrade to its campus by opening a new nursing center to elevate the program into the future.

The 52,000-square-foot nursing education, research and practice center at the college took about eight years and $95 million to build. It includes a maternity ward, an intensive care unit and simulated mannequins for hands-on exposure.

“It's the largest public facility between here and Albany I think and it's going to really help make the staff here better servants for the city,” said Robin Auchincloss, director of campus planning and facilities at Lehman College. “Students can experience what they'd experience live in a hospital and the simulating effect really makes you feel like you're having that actual training."

One of the facility’s major goals is to accommodate more undergraduate and graduate school nursing students to provide them with state-of-the-art training resources.