App State senior nursing major Kimber Blackburn, left, practices her nursing skills under the direction of Dr. Melinda Bogardus, assistant professor in the Department of Nursing, as part of a hands-on exercise in the Beaver College of Health Sciences’ Healthcare Simulation Lab, located in the Levine Hall of Health Sciences. Funding from the Golden LEAF Foundation will support the creation of an additional nursing simulation and clinical learning lab, located at the App State Hickory campus. Photo by Chase Reynolds
BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University has been awarded $500,000 in funding from the Golden LEAF Foundation, which supports the establishment of a nursing simulation and clinical learning lab at the App State Hickory campus.
“Our nursing program is grateful for the Golden LEAF Foundation’s generous support,” said Dr. Marie Huff, dean of the Beaver College of Health Sciences. “The modern nursing simulation space at the Hickory campus will enable App State to offer advanced clinical training opportunities and help support the region’s workforce needs by graduating highly skilled nursing professionals.”
The lab will serve as a controlled environment where students of the university’s Doctor of Nursing Practice-Family Nurse Practitioner (DNP-FNP) program, launching this fall, can develop and refine crucial clinical skills.
The space will also benefit the university’s growing pre-licensure Bachelor of Science in nursing (BSN) program and serve as a hub for interprofessional health care education.
Funds from Golden LEAF will be used to outfit the lab with simulation equipment and advanced clinical tools.
“By supporting these advanced training environments, we are helping to build a workforce pipeline that will give students hands-on experience that directly translates to real-world health care jobs,” said Golden LEAF President and CEO Scott T. Hamilton. “The Golden LEAF Foundation is pleased to support the nursing simulation and clinical learning lab at the App State Hickory campus.”
Addressing NC’s health care workforce shortage
According to Sheps Health Workforce NC, approximately one-fourth of North Carolina counties do not meet the recommended ratio of primary care providers to residents. Shortages often disproportionately impact rural areas.
App State’s DNP‑FNP program is designed to help strengthen the nursing pipeline across the state and region. The program’s part‑time, hybrid format — 11 semesters, 76 credit hours and 1,000 clinical hours — makes advanced study accessible to nurses across all 100 North Carolina counties and beyond.
The Hickory campus lab will be App State’s second; the Beaver College of Health Sciences currently operates a health care simulation lab in Levine Hall on the Boone campus. Both labs will play a key role in creating opportunities for nursing students throughout the state.
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The hybrid program will welcome its first students this fall
The program, launching in fall 2026, will develop the next generation of rural health care leaders
About the Golden LEAF Foundation
The Golden LEAF Foundation is a nonprofit organization established in 1999 to receive a portion of North Carolina’s funding from the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement with cigarette manufacturers. Golden LEAF has worked to increase economic opportunity in North Carolina’s rural and tobacco-dependent communities through leadership in grantmaking, collaboration, innovation and stewardship as an independent and perpetual foundation. In fiscal year 2025, Golden LEAF helped create 1,665 jobs, more than $116 million in new payrolls and more than 4,722 workers trained or retrained for higher wages. Learn more at https://goldenleaf.org/.
About the Beaver College of Health Sciences
Appalachian State University’s Beaver College of Health Sciences (BCHS), opened in 2010, is transforming the health and quality of life for the communities it serves through interprofessional collaboration and innovation in teaching, scholarship, service and clinical outreach. The college enrolls more than 3,600 students and offers 10 undergraduate degree programs, nine graduate degree programs and four certificates across seven departments: Kinesiology, Nursing, Nutrition and Health Care Management, Public Health, Recreation Management and Physical Education, Rehabilitation Sciences, and Social Work. The college’s academic programs are located in the Holmes Convocation Center on App State’s main campus and the Levine Hall of Health Sciences, a state-of-the-art, 203,000-square-foot facility that is the cornerstone of Boone’s Wellness District. In addition, the college supports the Appalachian Institute for Health and Wellness and has collaborative partnerships with the Wake Forest University School of Medicine’s Physician Assistant Program, UNC Health Appalachian and numerous other health agencies. Learn more at https://healthsciences.appstate.edu.
About University Advancement
Appalachian State University’s Division of University Advancement supports and encourages the university’s mission by engaging alumni, friends and the greater community. University Advancement staff help connect these constituents with Appalachian through one-on-one contact and special programming, thereby securing the resources necessary to create the best possible learning environment for Appalachian students and to positively impact the community, region and state. The division incorporates the offices of Alumni Affairs, Development and the Appalachian State University Foundation Inc. Learn more at http://give.appstate.edu.
About Appalachian State University
As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.
The hybrid program will welcome its first students this fall
The program, launching in fall 2026, will develop the next generation of rural health care leaders
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