November 2010 Editorial

Giving Thanks

I am astounded by the support and generosity of so many individuals and businesses in this close-knit community and beyond!

During this holiday season, Carol and I feel extremely blessed to be in our new home, have the health of our children and grandchildren, and live in a community that wants to see LCC continue thrive and expand.

Each semester I witness many community members and LCC staff employees who take college students under their wing and give them support as well as emotional and financial guidance. These supporters of our students may have the direct impact of success for our students. ‘Home’ to many of our students may be states or countries away, but they quickly make friends and learn the ropes of college life. Many students call Parsons, Labette County, and other close communities ‘home’. Most of these students have the benefit of calling on friends and family close-by for moral support during their adventure through higher education. Our students are so blessed to be part of a community and institution that is so student focused.

Our campuses in Labette and Cherokee county continue to grow in many ways. Continuing education among our highly qualified instructors, new safety drills and technology on campuses, new technology in classrooms and labs, seeking outside grant funding, and of course, the biggest expansion in the history of the college since the addition of the Cherokee campus in 2005, is the “Pathways to the Future” campaign building a state of the art health science building. I am proud that this $10.5 million project is being funded through private donations for the new building, a scholarship endowment fund, and deferred maintenance. All this forward movement is in the name of one thing, students!

The progress and expansion at LCC is monumental in the history of the college and in the history of healthcare in our community. We are privileged to have such a long-standing, strong relationship with so many area hospitals, doctors, and clinics. With their guidance, and our top-notch faculty, LCC is ready to take on the challenge of continuing and expanding excellence in healthcare education for the communities we serve. We are all certainly excited at our new program offerings in Physical Therapist Assistant, Diagnostic Medical Sonography, and Dental Assistant as we continue to serve our public.

The federal grant will allow LCC to become an even bigger force in healthcare education by continuing to train some of the area’s best allied health professionals. Even more graduates will enter the workforce at local hospitals, clinics, and residential care facilities. The timeliness of the addition of the programs goes hand-in-hand with the current nationally-ranked nursing, respiratory care, and radiography programs. The capital campaign has raised nearly $7 million of the $10.5 million needed to complete a new state of the art LEED certified health science building, which will house the current allied health programs and the three new programs.

Under the guidance of our new PTA Program Director, Lisa Bradley, LCC will launch our Physical Therapist Assistant program in fall of 2011. The next two programs will follow suite with Diagnostic Medical Sonography, which will compliment the currently outstanding Radiography program. Students completing coursework for the Radiography program may continue certification with the sonography program to gain valuable career experience before entering the workforce. The third program to be implemented will be the Dental Assistant program.

As always we invite you to visit your campus and take note of the exciting things happening and the opportunities we are providing for our students and their futures. Thank you for the support and opportunity from so many, I hope your holidays are blessed.