KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Roane State and Tennessee College of Applied Technology’s new health science education center will open to students in January of 2026. 

The Knox Regional Health Science Education Center will be located on the Covenant Health Campus on Sherrill Boulevard in Knoxville. It’s replacing Roane State’s current Knox County Center for Health Sciences on Hayfield Road. 

“It’s important because our current facility, although we’re very thankful that we’ve occupied for many years, we have been out of space there for a number of years, ” Chris Whaley, Roane State Community College President said. “We don’t have any space to bring on additional programs, so it’s not just a matter of not being able to grow nursing and grow EMS and paramedic, we need to start up new programs.”

Roane State’s nursing, EMS, polysomnography and respiratory therapy programs will be housed in the new 130,000 square-foot facility. The college also plans to add new programs like cardiovascular technology, healthcare administration and public health. 

Roughly one in three healthcare workers in the region are educated by Roane State, according to Whaley. For students, the center will have a 10,000-square-foot simulation center, which will help students train for real-life scenarios. The simulation center will include an emergency department, ambulance bay and electronic medical record workstation as well as operating, ICU, medication and decontamination rooms.

“There is no guarantee on any particular day that you will see a birth or a cardiac surgery,” Whaley said referring to clinicals. “We can simulate all of those things here so that when a student sees them at some point in real life as a professional, they will have already seen them here in a simulated way.”

Kayla Teter, a medical assistant working towards her associate’s degree at Roane State, said she is most excited for the simulation center. 

“Having this facility that’s new and improved is going to better us as students,” Teter said. 

Teter is a mom of two children and is tackling college for the second time. After losing her father at 15 years old and her grandfather in 2019, Teter said losing loved ones put into perspective that she wanted to help people. 

“It was really heavy on my heart,” Teter said. “I wanted to go back to school and I wanted to help people that helped me and my family in hard times.”

Teter was the first student to visit the center Friday morning. She got a tour of the facility, along with a surprise scholarship from the college she attends. She said no amount of money compares to what she feels when she gets to help people.  

“If my patient feels safe and cared for, I know I’ve done my job,” Teter said. 

Whaley said that not every health science program will be open and ready for students in January 2026, but he confirmed that the simulation center and nursing program will be. Other programs will open up to students throughout the fall semester.