Owens hosts open house for new health education campus

PERRYSBURG — Owens Community College held a grand opening ceremony for its Healthcare Education Center Monday at its Perrysburg campus. The community was invited to tour the new $31.3 million renovation and expansion, offering over 86,500 square feet of space for educating healthcare professionals. During the ceremony, college President Dione Somerville acknowledged the community partners and donors whose support made the vision a reality, with the college receiving $1.4 million in state capital funds, more than $100,000 in donations and equipment, $351,000 via a grant from the Ohio Department of Education and the proceeds from its 22nd Annual Owens Foundation Golf Classic event. A key feature to the center is the Interprofessional Education and Simulation Center, designed to encourage different healthcare disciplines to collaborate and work together to improve patient outcomes. Key features of the Interprofessional Education and Simulation Center Include: A six-bed simulated hospital equipped with the latest healthcare equipment to reproduce clinical events and patient care High-fidelity mannequins programmed to react in a realistic manner during learning activities Flexible spaces with movable walls to convert for home health and other settings where students can work with patients as a team "As we created our vision for the Healthcare Education Center, we knew that we wanted a place where students would learn in a real world environment," Somerville said. "Where state-of-the-art equipment and hands-on training would come together to prepare our graduates for the demands of modern healthcare." Ten out of 11 School of Nursing and Health programs will be located in the Healthcare Education Center, including programs in medical assisting, nursing, sonography and radiologic technology. Labs are equipped with the following: Nursing Lab: Two skills labs, five hospital rooms, and a simulated hospital with 36 patient beds and updated equipment Dental Hygiene Lab and Clinic: Functional public dental clinic, power-driven scales in each of the 25 operatories, cordless prophy hand pieces, and computers for viewing charts and radiographs Magnetic Resonance Lab: Simulated MRI scanner and software in lab spaces Surgical Technology Lab: Two operating room suites, surgical environments, sterile processing lab, and advanced simulation mannequins Sonography Labs: Clinical experience setting, and private scanning labs with real-life patients Radiologic Technology Lab: X-ray equipment, cameras, lasers, monitors, and computers Physical Therapist Assistant Lab: Therapy learning space, setting practice skills on human subjects, and equipped lab for working with patients in a clinical setting Occupational Therapy Assistant Lab: Assistive technology empowering individuals with disabilities to perform daily tasks independently and safely, smart appliances with voice activated controls, adaptive utensils, and automated cooking tools Health Information Technology Lab: Office suite arrangement with 20 workstations, and a large monitor display Medical Assisting Lab: Primary-care office setting, image capture devices and a functioning physicians lab office for acquiring and processing specimens "We have dedicated every square foot to ensuring that our students leave here confident, credentialed and ready to make a difference," said Somerville. Owens graduates an average of 414 annually, with 230 students on average becoming nurses, she said. The majority of graduates find careers with local healthcare providers such as ProMedica, Mercy Health and Blanchard Valley Health System. "This center is more than just a building — it represents a vision. A vision for what health education can be as we educate future professionals who will care for our families, for our neighbors, and for our communities," Somerville said.