Moody Magic Wildcats prevail after falling behind
vol. 100, no. 6
wednesday, september 14, 2011
Sports page 8
1 SECTION, 8 PAGES
local
Shooting victim’s condition improves mark smith managing editor
daniel gomez chief Photographer
Fairgoers, Jessica Rodkey, senior accounting major from Helotes, and Brittany Polnisch, junior art major from Baytown, fly through the blue sky on a ride at the West Texas Fair and Rodeo.
CHAPEL
University tailors nursing school jozie sands opinion editor ACU’s new School of Nursing will move into the former home of Abilene Educational Supply on Campus Court across from the Administration Building by the fall of 2013. The about 10,000-square-foot space was gutted over the summer to make room for new construction and eventually the program. To lead development of the new program, Susan Kehl has moved from
the Patty Hanks Shelton School of Nursing and has begun writing the curriculum. While the university is still working to hire all the needed faculty members and complete the facility, this year’s freshmen will be the maiden class of the School of Nursing. The juniors and seniors who make up the nursing program can expect two or three classrooms, each able to handle 50 students, office space for the faculty and clinical adjuncts, two simulation labs and a commons area
for students, Kehl said. “I’m working with consultants and advanced practice nurses,” Kehl said. “It’s a collaborative effort and we want to end up with an excellent product for our students. I want it to be designed so it is efficient and conducive to student learning.” The School of Nursing will start out with two or three full-time faculty and a few clinical adjuncts, Kehl said. The clinical adjuncts are necessary to satisfy the Texas Nursing Board’s requirement that
one faculty member supervise every 10 students during clinical work. Students will care for patients in a variety of situations under faculty supervision during clinicals. Specific locations are not yet set, but will include hospitals, the public health department, school settings, nursing homes and clinics. “Students are exposed to nursing practices in all types of health care settings before graduation,” Kehl said. Before students begin
caring for the ailing during their clinicals, they will be introduced to patient care theory and practice in the nursing simulation lab. Simulation labs will be similar to actual hospital units with mannequins instead of patients. Students will learn using mannequins varying from low to high fidelity. High fidelity mannequins are programmed to provide physiological responses such as changes in vital signs, pupil size, lung sounds and abdominal see Nursing page 4
Family and friends of the 21-year-old Hardin-Simmons University student shot in the head last week by a tenant at the Mesquite Square apartment complex say they have been amazed at his rapid recovery since the incident. After spending several days in a coma at Hendrick Medical Center, Jacob Allen was alert and in fair condition Tuesday and may be released as soon as Thursday. “He’s really been improving,” said his wife, Jessica Allen, an ACU junior early education major also from Brownwood. “It’s incredible.” Allen, a senior HSU business major from Brownwood, was working in the Mesquite Square apartment complex office around 5 p.m., according to police and media reports, when John Lee, a 73-yearold resident at the apartment complex, entered wielding a .38 caliber gun. When Lee began shooting at Allen, striking him one in the temple, Allen’s co-worker, Joshua Steed, struck Lee with a chair, disabling him, and subdued him until police arrived. Allen and Lee were taken to Hendrick, where Lee later died from blunt force trauma to the head, according to preliminary autopsy reports. Police and family are unsure of the motive for the attack, but Ryan Lynn, an ACU alumnus and close friend of the Allens, said Lee had been displaying sporadic behavior and making unusual complaints to the management office in the weeks leading up to the shooting. “A few days before the shooting, he’d made amends with management and showed gratitude when they fixed his air conditioning unit,” said Lynn. “Then he came out of nowhere and attacked Jacob. It could’ve been dementia or Alzheimer’s – no one really knows.” Allen is expected to be released within the week, Lynn said, possibly as soon as Thursday. After the condition he’d been in when he first arrived in the intensive care unit, his improvement has been “nothing short of a miracle,” his friend said. “The outlook was not good when he first got here, Lynn said. “He was in a coma for about four days. In fact, a couple days ago he came down with pneumonia. But he’s doing great now.” Allen was awake, responsive and even showed a humorous outlook at the attention he’s been getting from newspapers. He did have one complaint, though. “All the newspapers have been getting my age wrong,” Jacob Allen said. “I’m 21.” contact cox at mkc09b@acu.edu
inside features
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Discover a variety of restaurant options in Abilene.
Reasons ACU needs a Chapel app
Immersion and Service Expo introduces students to various organizations.
Former SA president’s stalking and assault charges dropped.
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Abilene Christian University
acuoptimist.com
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