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| Natalie Kerr (left) and Morgan Henry, students from Franklin in SCC’s respiratory therapy program, work on a simulation mannequin earlier this year. The college and its public school partners have secured more than $1.77 million for STEM education, and SCC plans to use its portion to outfit its new health sciences simulation lab with state-of-the art simulation mannequins and related equipment. |
When Southwestern Community College students first learn to practice CPR or how to draw blood, they do chest compressions or slide a needle into a simulation mannequin.
Very soon, those mannequins will be a lot more lifelike.
SCC recently secured $370,000 in grant funding from Golden LEAF for equipment to be used in the college’s new health sciences simulation labs. The cash infusion is part of more than $1.7 million in funding SCC’s Lynda Parlett helped secure for the college and its public school partners in Jackson and Macon County from Golden LEAF this year.
“The technology on these simulators has improved astronomically in recent years,” said Dr. Mitch Fischer, dean of health sciences at SCC. “By having access to the most-advanced simulation technology on the market today, our students will benefit tremendously. We are very grateful to Golden LEAF for its support of our programs and especially our students.”
SCC has 14 health sciences programs, most of which utilize simulation mannequins.
The college recently completed construction on an immersive learning simulated clinical triage and examination room, which was funded through a grant from the Cannon Foundation and will now be outfitted with equipment purchased through the Golden LEAF grant.
“Over the last three years, we’ve secured several million dollars in grant funding – including some from Golden LEAF – that is being used to support other components of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education,” said Lynda Parlett, executive director of institutional development at SCC. “This latest grant funding will allow us to focus on the health sciences.
“The funding we assisted our public school partners in securing will help develop a pipeline of students who will be taking STEM classes and pursuing degrees in STEM fields,” Parlett added. “We’re letting these students know about career options, and we’re ramping up the classes and support for them.”
SCC is presently in the planning stages for construction of an approximately $17 million health sciences building that will eventually house the state-of-the art simulators.
Southwestern, which has been ranked among the Top 10 community colleges in the nation three times in the past decade, serves Jackson, Macon, Swain Counties and the Qualla Boundary. For more information about SCC and the programs it offers, visit www.southwesterncc.edu or call 828.339.4000.
