![skills-capital-grant-award-2018-dp]( "skills-capital-grant-award-2018-dp")
Left to right: Gov. Charlie Baker, MassBay President Dr. David Podell, MassBay Dean of Health Sciences Lynne Davis and MassBay Coordinator of Skills and Simulation Laboratories Lise Johnson Kinahan.
Contact:
Liz Cooper
781-239-2636
ecooper@MassBay.edu
WELLESLEY HILLS, MA (June 2018) — MassBay Community College is pleased to announce it has been awarded a $494,438 Massachusetts Skills Capital Grant by the Baker-Polito Administration to upgrade and expand the Health Sciences division’s current simulation resources into a state-of-the-art Certified Simulation Center and Nursing Skills Lab. The $10.9 Million Skills Capital grant funds will assist 33 high schools and educational institutions in the Commonwealth to purchase the newest technologies to educate students and expand programs. Since the Baker-Polito Administration began awarding the Skills Capital Grants three years ago, MassBay has received more than $1.2 Million to strengthen our in-demand Automotive Technology, Biotechnology, Health Sciences and Cyber Security Programs.
MassBay will use the latest Skills Capital Grant to create a Certified Simulation Center and Nursing Skills Lab equipped with a family of simulators, from neonatal simulation mannequins to geriatric simulation mannequins. This new equipment will allow faculty to teach Health Science students on a wide range of healthcare skills. This diverse range of healthcare settings, which the equipment approximates, will enable students to obtain hands-on training in multiple situations that they will encounter when working in the field.
The Simulation Center will be used by students in MassBay’s Associate degree and certificate Nursing programs and our certificate Paramedicine programs. The state-of-the-art equipment will also enable the College to develop a new Paramedicine degree program. In addition, the Center will be used to strengthen existing and develop new partnerships with K-12 and vocational technical schools, universities, and health and human services organizations in the MetroWest region, including plans to launch a Summer Health Careers Academy with Keefe Regional Technical School as a bridge to a career pathway.
MassBay will use this grant to purchase six high fidelity simulation mannequins, which will deliver life-like replication of human medical conditions and reactions. The simulation mannequins will include two adult males, two adult females, one child and one newborn baby. MassBay will also use the grant to purchase other equipment and tools that will enable to recreate medical environments for diagnosing, treating and monitoring patient problems including; an Education Management System for recording simulations and drills, a Call System for patient to nurse communication, and an Active Shooter Kit and Sweet Extrication Training System for emergency and lifesaving care.
According to the Greater Boston Workforce Planning Blueprint, the healthcare industry is expected to experience a substantial growth through the next decade with a high demand for new workers. Researchers also found that several occupations for nursing and technicians in healthcare roles will require less than a bachelor’s degree, but more than a high school degree which MassBay will be ready to serve this population.
"We are grateful to Governor Baker and members of his Skills Cabinet for their generous investment in our Health Sciences program through the Skills Capital Grant,” said MassBay President Dr. David Podell. “The grant will enable our students to learn and train on state-of-the-art equipment and prepare them to become skilled nurses and technicians in the healthcare field, and will help MassBay build a strong pipeline to fill critical workforce gaps in the Commonwealth."
This is the third Massachusetts Skills Capital Grant awarded to MassBay. In March 2017, MassBay was awarded $318,547 to provide support to our Health Sciences Division by purchasing much needed simulation mannequins; the STEM Division through the purchase of state-of-the-art electrical engineering equipment; and the Automotive Technology Center with the purchase of a Dynanometer that allows students to safely measure the power output of car engines. In October 2017, MassBay was awarded $454,148 to provide support to our Biotechnology and Cyber Security programs with new equipment to update our labs, development of “on-the-go” cybersecurity labs, and other equipment to prepare students for careers in these high-demand fields.
The 2016 Massachusetts Economic Development Bill established three years of funding for the Workforce Skills Cabinet to administer the Skills Capital Grant Program. The program’s intent is to increase the capacity and quality of vocational training and education by providing funds to eligible schools and institutions for the purchase/installation of equipment that would support vocational/technical training, upgrades and expansion of career technical education, and training of high-quality career pathway programs that align with regional economic and workforce development priorities for in-demand industries.
MassBay Community College was recently ranked by the Brookings Institution as one of the top schools for value added and earned salaries in the workforce. Ranked #1 for 2-year colleges in Massachusetts, #2 in New England and ranked #16 nationally. The College’s facilities in Wellesley Hills, Framingham and Ashland house day, evening and weekend classes that meet the needs of degree-seeking students and career minded life-long learners. Online options provide convenience and allow faculty to facilitate the learning process. Since its founding in 1961, MassBay has been accredited by several governing bodies and strives to meet the needs of the diverse local communities it serves.