UConn introduces van to help train prison nurses

STORRS, Conn. (AP) — The University of Connecticut's School of Nursing is rolling out a new vehicle that will bring a training opportunity to nurses working in the state's prisons.

The van simulates what nurses would find inside a prison health unit and is designed to eliminate the need to travel elsewhere for training on how to handle varying scenarios.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held Monday at the Storrs campus to put the 40-foot van into service.

The vehicle and training sessions for the prison nurses are being paid for through a $1.1 million grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration.

Correctional nurses serve inmates at 16 facilities around the state.

UConn says it hopes the van becomes a model for training elsewhere around the United States.