Central Maine Medical Center College of Nursing and Health Professions

School of Nursing History The College was established in 1891 as a diploma granting institution, and named the Central Maine General Hospital Training School. The first student was admitted on July 9, 1891 and on March 24, 1893, the first student was graduated. A total of five (5) students were graduated from the college during 1893. A Cadet Program was started at the college in 1943 and remained in existence until 1946. Until 1953, when an academic year calendar was established, admissions to the college occurred at any time during the year. Since then, students have been admitted annually. The first male student was admitted to the college in 1953. Since then, male students have been admitted to, and present in, each class. The then existing student residences became coeducational in 1976. The process of shortening the nursing curriculum from three (3) years (thirty-six months), to its current four (4) academic semesters, began in 1968. The college granted diplomas to its graduates until 1977, when Governor James B. Longley signed into law, L.D. 446, granting the college the authority to award an Associate in Applied Science Degree in Nursing to its graduates. In 1976, the name of this college was changed from Central Maine General Hospital School of Nursing to Central Maine Medical Center School of Nursing. In 1978, the Central Maine Medical Center School of Nursing became the first single entity, post-secondary nursing educational institution to become accredited by the Commission on Vocational-Technical Career Institutions of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. The Class of 1994 was the last class to wear the blue and white pin-striped student uniform. Beginning with the Class of 1995, the student uniform is white with the College insignia on the left chest. In 1995, all of the college’s offices and classrooms were moved to Metcalfe Building. In 2001, the college moved into its new state-of-the-art facility at 70 Middle Street, Lewiston. In 2002, the college began offering its Associate in the Applied Science in Nursing degree program via video-conferencing to its Rumford site and in 2003 to its Farmington site. In 2006, the college began to offer courses to fulfill the general education component of the curriculum.