The new Center for Health Professions continues to take shape on the NWACC campus, with the start of classes in the new building anticipated for January 2013.
The center’s completion will allow the College to expand existing programs in Nursing, Physical Therapy Assistant, Paramedic and Respiratory Therapy and add programs in such areas as Health Information Management, Medical Assisting and Occupational Therapy.
Simulation labs will be an integral part of all of the HP programs in the new Center, said Mary Ross, Dean of Health Professions at NWACC. Providing collaborative learning scenarios for all HP students is a priority upon occupancy of the building, she noted. For example, Respiratory Therapy and the EMT/Paramedic Programs will use a simulated scenario of either a trauma victim or cardiac arrest patient to create the urgency and necessity of a team approach to saving a life.

The EMT/Paramedic Program will have a simulated ambulance within the Program’s simulation lab, Ross said. This will allow students to practice loading/unloading patients, treating patients within a confined environment and will lead new graduates better prepared to ensure patient safety and deliver quality emergency medical care.