Earlier this month, the Golden LEAF Board of Directors awarded $777,337 in funding to support the expansion of Southwestern Community College’s Health Sciences programs.
The funding will be used for medical training equipment, staffing as well as supplies for providing simulated and live-patient training opportunities with the goal of graduating more “work-ready” healthcare professionals.
It’s part of a $10,108,307 investment of Golden LEAF’s Community-Based Grants Initiative in the Western Prosperity Zone.
“Golden LEAF is pleased to support Southwestern Community College’s Health Sciences programs,” said Scott T. Hamilton, Golden LEAF President and Chief Executive Officer. “The April award will help expand the services of existing clinics and add several new clinic opportunities in Respiratory Therapy, Medical Laboratory Technology and Radiography. The new and expanded programs will help produce 508 highly trained regional healthcare employees over 10 years to meet demand and employer needs.”
In August of 2020, Golden LEAF awarded $198,400 to assist with the purchase of simulation training equipment for the Nursing, Physical Therapist Assistant and Medical Sonography Curriculum programs.
“Golden LEAF has been a strong advocate and supporter of community colleges, and we’re extremely grateful their Board of Directors recognizes the value of supporting our efforts to meet the healthcare training needs of Western North Carolina,” said Dr. Don Tomas, Southwestern Community College’s President.
Southwestern opened a $23 million Health Sciences Center last fall. The 55,000-square-foot building provides the college with enough capacity to add 144 additional students in each of the first two years. The college was also able to add two new programs (Surgical Technology and Opticianry), meaning SCC now offers training for 16 healthcare careers.
Golden LEAF’s funding allows for the expansion of clinical services already provided by Southwestern’s Physical Therapist Assistant, Medical Sonography and Therapeutic Massage programs. SCC can now add testing, scans and other services provided by students and their instructors and preceptors in the Respiratory Therapy, Medical Laboratory Technology, Radiography and Occupational Therapy Assistant programs.
The funding also helps SCC to hire a coordinator for the new facility’s state-of-the-art simulation lab, used by many programs in training for a wide range of medical scenarios that students may not encounter in a traditional clinical setting.
“It is such an exciting time for Health Sciences education at SCC,” said Melissa Hyatt, who began serving as Southwestern’s Dean of Health Sciences in January. “The new facility, equipped with the most-sophisticated training equipment, along with a dedicated faculty that goes above and beyond to facilitate student success position us to become a flagship institution for healthcare training. The generosity and support of this funding will allow us to enhance and expand healthcare.”
For more information about Golden LEAF, visit GoldenLEAF.org.
For more information about Southwestern Community College and the programs it offers, visit www.SouthwesternCC.edu, call 828.339.4000 or drop by your nearest SCC location.
