Fresno Pacific University celebrated the opening of the new CalViva Simulation Lab on September 23, 2026, bringing together university, healthcare and community leaders.
Dozens of individuals gathered for the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the North Fresno Campus of FPU, 5 River Park Pl W, Fresno. Fresno Pacific nursing students, faculty, staff and leadership were joined by representatives from CalViva Health, as well as representatives from elected officials’ offices.
The renovated simulation lab was made possible by a gift from CalViva Health and provides nursing students with the opportunity to develop their skills in a realistic environment before entering real-world healthcare settings.
FPU President André Stephens, Ph.D., said the lab will help students build the skills and confidence needed to serve patients with excellence and compassion.
“Together, we are investing in more than facilities and academic programs,” he said. “We are investing in students who will become skilled and compassionate healthcare professionals.”
CalViva Health CEO Jeffrey Nkansah spoke on the common ground shared by CalViva and FPU.
“We both believe in serving the Central Valley, creating opportunities for our residents and investing in the people who will become the next generation of our local healthcare workforce,” Nkansah said.
Courtney Shapiro, director of community relations and marketing for CalViva Health, noted that conversations about supporting FPU began about a year ago. Those conversations led directly to CalViva’s investment in the simulation lab.
Shapiro encouraged students to be bold in pursuing opportunities and said CalViva views the opening of the lab as only the beginning.
“We don’t see this as the completion of a project,” she said. “We see it as the beginning of a relationship.”
The upgraded lab includes an adult simulator, birthing simulator and baby simulator, along with updates to existing simulators and new technology. All of this is designed to provide students with hands-on training in environments that mirror hospitals, clinics and other healthcare settings.
Michelle Bradford, Psy.D., dean of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies, said this lab provides students with opportunities to practice care before engaging with real patients.
“This renovated lab gives our faculty and students an environment that supports that work,” she said. “It allows us to make learning more hands-on and to help students move from knowing what to do to understanding how and when to do it.”
Nursing students Danae Gatewood and Mia Buller also addressed attendees, sharing what the investment meant to them personally as well as to current and future students.
“This lab gives us a place to practice, learn, make mistakes safely, ask questions and develop the skills we will eventually carry into real patient rooms,” Gatewood said. “You are not simply helping build a lab—you are helping build nurses.”
Buller said the investment provides students with more than new equipment and hands-on learning opportunities.
“This gift tells us that we are believed in. It tells us that we are seen,” she said. “Thank you for showing us that the work we are doing matters, that the nurses we are becoming matter, and that our future impact on others matters.”
Following the speaking portion, representatives from the Fresno Pacific and from CalViva gathered to officially cut the ribbon.
Student-led tours of the simulation lab were then offered, including live demonstrations of the simulators. Nursing students demonstrated a simulated birth and cardiac arrest, giving attendees a firsthand look at how the new technology will be utilized.