INA, Ill. (Jan. 11, 2013) - Kimberly Guetersloh, a grant researcher and coordinator with Southern Illinois Healthcare, delivered new communications equipment to Rend Lake College Allied Health Division Chair Kim Robert (CENTER) and Distance Learning and Media Technology Specialist Derek Wintermann last week. This equipment is an upgrade to the Simulation and Learning Lab at Benton Consolidated High School. RLC was able to get the equipment through a partnership with Connect SI and SIH.
Robert said, "The Allied Health Division has always valued its partnership with SIH and looks forward to working on more projects with them to help build the future of healthcare in Southern Illinois."
According to Guetersloh, other colleges in the region also benefitted from the grant opportunity through the Rural Utilities Services (RUS) grant program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These grant funds allowed for the purchase of webinar equipment and are aimed at addressing the continued unmet healthcare needs of the Illinois Delta Region. Through a collaborative effort between these Connect SI consortium members, SIH and its partners can develop and deliver health education and healthcare job training programs by utilizing distance learning equipment and technologies as the primary mode of delivery. The technologies offer a bidirectional flow of information with up to 13 sites being able to connect during one session, she said.
Wintermann said of the new equipment, "It's basically a unit with two cameras, a microphone and a remote. I'll be installing it at Benton High School as an upgrade to what we have there now. The students can either use it for distance learning or other technical needs."