Mattoon, IL-(Effingham Radio)- Lake Land College and Sarah Bush Lincoln are pleased to announce a new partnership that creates an educational pathway to a high demand career in healthcare as a central service technician.
This fall Lake Land offered two new sterile processing courses for the first time. Students enrolled in the courses are training for a career as a central service technician. An individual in this role prepares surgical, laboratory and other healthcare equipment for use by performing routine sterilization, installation and inspection procedures.
Sarah Bush Lincoln is providing clinical supervision and scholarship support for students enrolled in the classes.
The new central service technician courses serve as a starting point and pipeline for a full Surgical Technologist degree program that is currently in development for fall 2024. The program will be submitted to the Illinois Community College Board for approval.
“Lake Land College is fortunate to share Sarah Bush Lincoln’s vision of strengthening our communities by creating educational and career opportunities from within,” Lake Land College President Josh Bullock said. “Through our strong partnership we are creating access to more rewarding futures for our residents and providing opportunities for social mobility.”
Sarah Bush Lincoln is providing tuition-assistance scholarship to students in the exam review class and the clinical practicum.
“We identified a need to grow surgical techs and technologists from within our community. We appreciate Lake Land College’s willingness to work with us to develop an educational training program that will provide a pipeline of highly skilled techs and technologists. We are proud to provide the clinical training students will need and to invest in scholarship support to the students,” Sarah Bush Lincoln President and CEO Kim Uphoff said.
The first course, Central Service Technician Exam Review, equips students with the knowledge and classroom foundation necessary to perform the duties of a central service technician. The second course is an immersive practicum designed to provide students with a minimum of 400 hours of clinical experience. The two courses can be taken in conjunction, and they collectively prepare students for the certification exams necessary to be identified as a certified sterile processing technician.
Completion of the courses and certification exams is a rewarding investment for participating students. Sterile processing technicians across the country earn, on average, up to $62,960 annually with an average annual salary of $41,480. Students in this program can also anticipate consistent growth in a stable career, with nearly 4,000 new sterile processing technician positions projected throughout the country over the next 10 years.
“The college’s commitment to developing responsive programming to meet the demands of a valued industry partner, and Sarah Bush Lincoln’s generous scholarship and clinical support of our students, is a win-win for our region,” Bullock said. “As we progress in the college’s Growing the Laker Advantage Strategic Plan, we look forward to developing similar partnerships with other organizations that will enhance our communities.”
For more information on the program contact Erin Swingler, division chair allied health/nursing instructor, at 217-234-5448 or eswingler@lakelandcollege.edu.
Lake Land College District 517, located in Mattoon, Illinois, serves the second largest community college district in the state, with a total population of 189,869. The Lake Land College district comprises all or part of 15 counties and 31 public school districts in rural east central Illinois. Counties served by Lake Land College include: Christian, Clark, Clay, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Douglas, Edgar, Effingham, Fayette, Jasper, Macon, Montgomery, Moultrie and Shelby.
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