Kettering College Celebrates Opening of Staten Family Learning Laboratories

Kettering, Ohio (Oct. 9) — On Monday, Oct. 12, Kettering College of Medical Arts will celebrate the opening of the Staten Family Learning Laboratories in the Boonshoft Center for Medical Sciences. The event will run from 5-6:30 p.m. in the new PA lab, which is located on the first floor of the college’s main building. After tours and refreshments, a brief dedication ceremony will be held, with remarks from college president Dr. Charles Scriven and from Dr. Martin Clark, president of the Kettering Medical Center Foundation.

The Staten Family Learning Labs are a newly remodeled space that includes both the PA lab and a new skills lab for the medical sonography department. At a price tag of $550,000, the combined space features 4700 square feet of teaching, learning and meeting area.

The new PA learning lab includes 10 exam rooms that will be linked with audio-visualmonitoring communications and features simulated operating and emergency rooms. There also is a central teaching area for group projects and demonstrations, as well as student lockers and mailboxes and the necessary infrastructure for the addition of a simulation mannequin in the future.  Storage was designed to accommodate the wide variety of learning supplies needed for the instruction of PA students in multiple disciplines. 
 

“A modern skills lab that adds realism to the educational experience is critical to what we do, and the ability to have simulation technology adds yet another element of realism to PA education. We have designed this space with technological growth built in so that, when future technology becomes available, we can adapt it to this space,” said Sue Wulff, chair of the physician assistant department. “We are so grateful to the Staten family for making this project a reality.”

The medical sonography learning lab has seven examination bays with high-tech ultrasound equipment provided by GE Healthcare.  These bays can be observed from a central control desk by video monitors that will display the actual scanning being done.  A central teaching/learning area for presentations is equipped with computer plug-ins and is adapted for wireless information. Storage accommodates the learning devices and supplies used in the scan lab setting.  A student apparel and book bag/computer storage space is also included.

“Having a true state-of-the-art learning lab offers our sonography students the lab experience they need to match the quality instruction we try to aspire to every day,” said sonography department chair Joyce Grube. “I anticipate that ultrasound supervisors and other sonography educators might want to tour our new facility.  The ultra-modern teaching and learning environment of the new lab is unmatched in any sonography department I’ve ever seen.  We conducted our first scan lab early this week, and the students love it already.”

The sonography department will have its own smaller, more intimate celebration on Tuesday, Nov. 10, from 5-6:30 p.m. in its lab. For attendees, that event will feature hands-on experience with the new ultrasound equipment.

The Staten Family Learning Labs were made possible by a generous gift from John Staten, chairman of the board at O’Neil and Associates in Miamisburg. His son Greg is a 2001 graduate from Kettering College’s physician assistant program.  The Virginia W. Kettering Foundation also made a significant donation toward the project.

About Kettering College of Medical Arts

Kettering College of Medical Arts is a fully accredited, coeducational college that specializes in health science education.  A division of Kettering Medical Center, the College is located on the KMC campus in a suburb of Dayton, Ohio, and is chartered by the Seventh-day Adventist Church.  Kettering College offers certificate programs, Associate and Bachelor of Science degrees, and a Master of Physician Assistant Studies degree.

An institution of Christian higher education, Kettering College graduates health care professionals of high character who, in the tradition of the Master Healer, give whole-person care to their patients and generous service to their communities.  Eighty percent of Kettering College graduates live and work in Ohio, with the majority settling in the Dayton area.

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