An open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony were held on Wednesday evening at the site of the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit’s (CSIU) new Central Susquehanna Licensed Practical Nursing Career Center (CSLPNCC).
Attended by CSIU board members, the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Central PA Chamber of Commerce, the open house provided an opportunity for instructors at the newly renovated facility to showcase some of the additions to the new CSLPNCC building, located at 15 Lawton Lane, Milton.
The building previously housed CSIU’s business and human resources offices before the CSLPNCC was relocated there from its prior location in Lewisburg. Renovations to transform it into an LPN center were completed in December, and the first class of nursing students was able to attend courses there starting in January.
The nursing program has been in existence since 1967 and currently offers two classes per year, one in the fall and one in the spring, for students seeking their licensed practical nursing accreditation. “It’s a lot of hands on experience for our students,” said Jessica Probst, RN, MSN, an instructor at the CSLPNCC.
Jessica Probst, instructor at the Central Susquehanna LPN Career Center, discusses some of the features of the center’s simulation rooms.
“We’re kind of doing away with the standard lectures where we’re just standing there and lecturing with all the PowerPoints, so when students come to us we can do a lot of hands-on activities where they can actually put into practice what they have learned.”
The new career center location offers open-concept style classrooms and new technology for students, including five care facility simulation rooms, each modeled on different types of local medical facilities students might encounter in their careers, including rooms similar to those in Geisinger and Evangelical Community hospitals.
These rooms are fitted with state-of-the-art medical manikins that can present various symptoms and scenarios for students to react and engage with.
“This new space, we were able to style it more of how students are going to be taking care of patients,” said Probst, who added that feedback from students has been very positive so far.
In addition to the simulation rooms, the new building has been outfitted Promethean interactive whiteboards and an Anatomage Table, an interactive touch screen table that allows instructors and students to access a wide library of virtual cadavers that can be examined and digitally manipulated.
“This building really looks nothing like what it did before inside,” said Dr. John Kurelja, CSIU executive director. “It really was just a team effort of everybody involved... It’s a very special thing and I appreciate you all being here to help us celebrate with our open house.”
“This was a collaborative effort with help from just so many people, and the time and energy and commitment, not only from my staff, but the CSIU, and even the schools and community threw in some stuff,” said Dr. Timothy Campbell, center director.
Campbell said on the day of the move, he walked into the new building to find 90 nursing students helping with the transition.
“It was surprises like that which make this so special.
I’d just like to thank you all for being here and sharing in this success and our move and our new ventures.”
Original source can be found here.
Alerts Sign-up