AIC Nursing, OT Students Train in New Health-sciences Labs Following 2023 Fire

SPRINGFIELD — Nursing and occupational therapy (OT) students at American International College (AIC) are learning in newly constructed health-sciences labs this fall, following a July 2023 fire caused by a lightning strike that damaged labs and classrooms in Courniotes Hall and the adjacent Lissa Building. While Courniotes Hall is still in the early stages of redevelopment and reconstruction, new labs have been created in the renovated Lissa Building and a nearby facility at 1067 State St.

Thanks to the expeditious efforts of faculty, administration, and campus partners, these new learning spaces are operational for the fall 2024 semester. They provide essential technological resources for the nursing and OT programs, ensuring that these AIC School of Health Sciences students can continue their education without disruption.

Before the fire, the Lissa Building housed AIC’s human anatomical laboratory, a vital component of the nursing program. Given its existing infrastructure, the Lissa Building was a natural choice for rebuilding the college’s lost nursing lab spaces.

The 1067 State St. building, originally built in the 1980s as a gas station and later acquired by AIC, was initially repurposed as an auxiliary academic programming space. Although not directly impacted by the fire, the building required extensive renovations to become a modern occupational-therapy learning space for the 2024-25 academic year.

In the immediate aftermath of the fire, AIC launched a comprehensive response plan to address the most urgent needs of students. This included identifying temporary alternative classroom and lab spaces to minimize any disruption to their educational experience.

To ensure uninterrupted training for nursing students, AIC reached an agreement with UMass Amherst to use the UMass Amherst Center at Springfield during the 2023-24 academic year. This arrangement provided AIC students access to advanced simulation labs as a temporary replacement for the replica hospital spaces lost in the Courniotes Hall fire. With the new labs now operational on the AIC campus, the college remains deeply grateful to UMass for its support during that period of transition.

The restoration of labs in temporary locations on the AIC campus creates a unique opportunity to reimagine the future of Courniotes Hall. Although plans are still in the early stages, some construction has begun on its redevelopment. A comprehensive fundraising campaign is also being developed and will launch once the building plans are finalized. As the college embarks on this new vision, the entire AIC community will be invited to play an active role in shaping the project’s course.

“We are grateful for the dedicated team effort that restored these critical learning spaces for our nursing and OT students,” said Karen Rousseau, dean of the School of Health Sciences. “These new labs allow us to continue providing them with hands-on, state-of-the-art education and reflect the resilience of the AIC community.”