AllOne gift enhances education for future health care workers

A $120,000 gift from the AllOne Foundation & Charities will fund two initiatives in Pennsylvania College of Technology’s School of Nursing & Health Sciences: the purchase of a labor and delivery patient simulator and the launch of a pilot summer bridge program for first-year students.

A $100,000 grant from the AllOne Foundation is being used to purchase a Gaumard VICTORIA S2200 Labor and Delivery Patient Simulator for use by students in the college’s undergraduate nursing majors, which enroll nearly 350 students.

Touted as the world’s most lifelike childbirth simulator, the VICTORIA manikin simulates a full range of obstetrical events, including pregnancy complications, high-risk deliveries and postpartum emergencies. VICTORIA “births” a lifelike, full-term “baby.” The baby looks, moves and feels like a newborn.  Together, the mother and baby manikins facilitate training in resuscitation, stabilization, transport and intensive care.

“Hands-on, true-to-life experience is crucial to the success of our nursing students as they train to become highly competent medical professionals, able to transition seamlessly from college to career with the utmost confidence, compassion and professionalism,” said Valerie A. Myers, dean of nursing and health sciences.

A $20,000 gift from AllOne Charities will fund a pilot program to help improve nursing and health science students’ success in human anatomy and physiology and other prerequisite courses.

Several of the academic programs offered by Penn College’s School of Nursing & Health Sciences include one or two pre-program semesters before students are fully accepted into their desired major. Selection requirements include successful completion of several general education courses, including human anatomy and physiology. Students who have difficulty in prerequisite courses have significant barriers to degree completion.

With the funding, the college will pilot a bridge program for 15 students planning to enter their pre-program semester in August 2025. The two-week residential summer program, offered free to participants, will focus on academically preparing students for their human anatomy and physiology courses. It will also introduce the students to support services on campus and provide opportunities to build rapport with peer students before the fall semester begins.

In addition to receiving foundational knowledge of human anatomy and physiology, students will attend lectures and activities related to test preparation and study skills, time management skills and effective note taking; participate in professional development field trips and activities with area health care partners; take part in evening and weekend social activities led by current nursing and health sciences students; and visit with personnel in key support offices.

“AllOne Foundation & Charities is proud to support Pennsylvania College of Technology and the next generation of health care professionals,” said John Cosgrove, CEO of AllOne Foundation & Charities. “By providing students with access to state-of-the-art simulation technology and targeted academic support, we are investing in their success and the future of health care in our region.”

“We are truly grateful for the generosity of AllOne Foundation & Charities,” said Kyle Smith, senior executive director of college relations. “Their commitment to enhancing the health care delivery system and encouragement of innovative, creative and collaborative ways of improving the health and welfare of those in northeastern and northcentral Pennsylvania directly aligns with the mission of our School of Nursing & Health Sciences and the concepts that our students are learning in their classes and labs. We are excited and appreciative for the opportunity to partner in the important work of developing a highly skilled future health care workforce.”

Penn College’s School of Nursing & Health Sciences offers degrees in allied health, biomedical sciences, dental hygiene, healthcare administration & leadership, nursing, physical therapist assistant, physician assistant, prehospital medicine, radiography, and surgical technology. To learn more, call 570-327-4519.

AllOne Foundation & Charities works to enhance the health care delivery system of northeastern and northcentral Pennsylvania and to be innovative, creative and collaborative in crafting new ways of improving the health and welfare of the people of northeastern and northcentral Pennsylvania. It serves the counties of Bradford, Carbon, Clinton, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Lycoming, Monroe, Pike, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Wayne and Wyoming.

For information about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education, email the Admissions Office or call toll-free 800-367-9222.