College Secures $150K Grant to Expand Allied Health Offerings

Assisted by Southern Tier 8 Regional Development Board, Tompkins Cortland Community College has been awarded $150,000 through the Appalachian Regional Commission. The grant will allow for the expansion of offerings in allied health fields.

The creation of new microcredentials and professional development training will address a need in the community, where there has been strong growth in allied health jobs, but a lack of local training programs. Through the programs created with this grant funding, the College will be able to train the local workforce to fill those jobs. 

“Without partnerships we cannot tackle the enormous challenges we all face as a community, as a region, as a nation. We are very glad to count Southern Tier 8 among our partners,” said College President Amy Kremenek at the announcement of the grant. “There is a clear need. I have met with local employers who talk a great deal about the needs for qualified workers in very specific areas of health care to take care of our residents and citizens in our community.”

Provost Paul Reifenheiser worked with Carrie Whitmore, director of continuing education and workforce development, to submit the grant. “We knew that we wanted to get into the allied health field more intentionally,” said Reifenheiser. “We have an absolutely wonderful nursing program, but we didn’t always have other things that people could go into. We didn’t have faculty with the expertise or the equipment needed, so when this grant opportunity came along, we were thrilled.”

The grant will allow the College to hire a faculty member to develop the curriculum for the new microcredentials. “We had already been having discussions with local partners about needs, but this grant helped us intensify those discussions,” said Reifenheiser. “It’s good to know that we have created programs not because we think people will want them, but because we know our community needs them.”

Photo caption: Provost Paul Reifenheiser; President Amy Kremenek; Southern Tier 8 Executive Director Jen Gregory; Director of Continuing Education and Workforce Development Carrie Whitmore at the grant announcement