By Pat Foxx
CRAWFORD COUNTY- New friends meeting for the first time. Old friends catching up. The scramble to find out where classrooms are at. It’ the first day of school at Kirtland Community College’ (KCC) new campus, ‘Kirtland Grayling.’
Students began arriving the morning of Aug. 22 when fall semester classes officially began. The new site, located on Four Mile Road near the intersection of I-75 in Grayling, is a 58,000 square foot facility built to house the Health Sciences Center. In addition to core classes such as math, English, and psychology that make up the pre requisite program for most degrees, KCC is now offering 12 programs in healthcare.
Some of the programs offered at the location include Nursing, Surgical Technology, Cardiac Sonography, Medical Assistant, Health Information Technology and Emergency Medical Technology/Paramedic.
KCC is also offering two 16 credit hour fast track courses for Certified Nursing Assistant and Phlebotomy. Kirtland has partnered with Saginaw Valley State University for their RN to BSN (Bachelor of Science Nursing) program. This allows students to get the majority of their needed credit hours at community college rates, one-third of the costs of that at state universities.
The planning of the facility has been underway for a number of years. It was prompted largely by the growth in jobs in the health sector.
The Department of Natural Resources got the project moving when it donated 180 acres of land. Then a voter supported millage in 2014 provided the money for the construction of the building.
Sarah Holecheck, Director of Public Information said the communities which comprise the KCC service area took the project from a conception to reality.
‘Without the community support, this couldn’t have happened and we are so grateful,’ Holecheck said.
Aside from voter support of the millage, Kirtland received a CCSTEP (Community College Skilled Trades Education Program) grant for $3.5 million that was used for for technology improvements. Kirtland had to match 25 percent of the funds to receive the grant.
‘The CCSTEP provided for the most state of the art technological equipment you could ever ask for at our Grayling, Gaylord and Roscommon sites,’ Holecheck said.
Items purchased with the grant included Human Patient Simulators for men and women of all ages, from infant to geriatric The equipment gives trainers the capability to change circumstances of simulations while students are in the middle of a training session. For instance, trainers can make the simulator go into an unexpected heart attack so students are better prepared for events that could potentially happen in the field.
Despite the construction of the new facility, KCC’ original campus in Roscommon remains their main campus. Their three satellite sites are Kirtland Gaylord, Kirtland Grayling and Kirtland West Branch. It recently added virtual classes at Skyline Event Center in Comins as well as extensive online courses.
The cafeteria and book store have been moved from the Main Campus in Roscommon to the Grayling site. Roscommon will have amplified vending services that include fresh, quick lunch choices such as salads and sandwiches. Holecheck said the Student Center and the Instructional building on the main campus are being decommissioned for the time being. They will not be torn down. They could be recommissioned in the future if the need arises.
The official ribbon cutting ceremony at Kirtland Grayling will be 10 a.m. Friday, September 30. The campus will be open to the public Saturday, October 1 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday evening at 6 p.m. is the President’ Gala Fundraiser.
For tickets, please contact Kirtland Foundation Director Jennifer Page at jennifer.page@kirtland.edu.
For more information on KCC, visit them on the web at Kirtland.edu.
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