Wake Tech Secures Final Beam on Perry Simulation Hospital, Boosting Health Workforce

Workers secured the final beam atop the Perry Family Simulation Hospital at Wake Technical Community College’s Perry Health Sciences Campus in Raleigh, marking a topping-out on Feb. 26, 2026 for the three-story, 106,000-square-foot facility. The milestone follows voter approval in 2022 of $126 million in Workforce Forward bonds that fund the Perry Health Sciences Campus expansion.

Wake Tech President Dr. Scott Ralls said in the college release that accompanied the ceremony, "The Perry Family Simulation Hospital represents a transformative investment in the future of healthcare education and workforce development. This milestone brings us one step closer to providing students with an unparalleled, hands‑on learning environment that mirrors real‑world clinical settings. When this facility opens, it will strengthen our ability to prepare highly skilled healthcare professionals and support the needs of our growing community."

The simulation hospital will include a patient check-in area, a simulated emergency department, operating rooms, imaging and other diagnostic testing labs, a simulated nursing center, and patient rooms, providing "realistic multi-disciplinary training" across health specialties. Wake Tech describes the project as "one of the largest and most comprehensive Simulation Hospitals in the United States," a characterization the college highlighted in social posts about the topping-out; the college’s LinkedIn account, which lists 88,307 followers in the post excerpt, promoted the claim.

The project is being built through the Wake III Partnership, a collaboration between Wake Tech, Wake County, and WakeMed Health & Hospitals, with the City of Raleigh creating a Health & Education District to establish the land transaction framework needed for campus expansion. The Workforce Forward bond allocation for the Perry Health Sciences Campus also covers infrastructure and road improvements and a four-level parking deck to serve the new facility.

Wake Tech Executive Vice President and Interim Health Sciences Provost Nicole Reaves, EdD, said the simulation hospital will train students in cross-discipline practice: "This facility will prepare students in a true interdisciplinary setting. Not only will they learn skills in their respective fields, but also how to collaborate across the specialties, which they will have to do in the real world."

The college has scheduled the Perry Family Simulation Hospital to open in fall 2027, moving next into interior fit-out, equipment installation, and simulation commissioning ahead of phased program occupancy. Project partners have emphasized the facility’s role in expanding clinical training capacity for Wake County and WakeMed as local hospitals contend with workforce shortages.

Separately at the Perry Health Sciences Campus, Wake Tech announced a $1 million gift from retired Apex nurse Martha Mann Smith that renamed the nursing program the Martha Mann Smith School of Nursing; the college says the gift is its second-largest ever and will be permanently endowed for scholarships, technology upgrades, and faculty development. Wake Tech also notes institutional recognition as the top online community college in a Best Value Schools ranking that evaluated 1,100 institutions.

With the final beam in place and site work continuing, Wake Tech and its Wake III partners expect the Perry Family Simulation Hospital to serve as a regional hub for hands-on healthcare training and a pipeline for the skilled clinicians Wake County’s growing population will require.