INA, Ill.(Sep. 1, 2023)—The Southern Illinois AHEC (Area Health Education Center) program made a mini-grant donation to help strengthen the nursing program at RLC.
AHEC donates grant to improve Nursing program at RLC. FROM LEFT; RLC Foundation Assistant Director of Development Amy Newell, Director of the South Illinois AHEC Program Gloria Przygoda, RLC Director of Nursing Program Dr. Susan Wiley, and RLC Nursing students.
AHEC is a federal grant program from HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration) that’s mission is to improve the supply and distribution of healthcare workers in rural or underserved areas. Gloria Przygoda, Director of the South Illinois AHEC Program, said that their goal is to increase the number of nurses in their area and improve the nursing programs of local junior colleges.
Assistant Director of Development for the Rend Lake College Foundation, Amy Newell, said that the support received from AHEC has been intracal to the growth of the Allied Health division. She said that the support received from local agencies who see quality in the students at RLC and want to invest in their futures by donating to our programs is a blessing. “It’s a blessing not only for the college and students, but for our community as a whole,” Newell said. “These students are going out into the workforce and they’re going to take care of our population.”
The money from this grant will be used to upgrade the teaching manikins, simulation and skills equipment, and supplies that nursing students use on a daily basis to simulate real world scenarios.
Dr. Susan Wiley, RLC Director of Nursing Program, is thankful to have this donation from AHEC. The upgraded equipment will provide nursing students with invaluable experience to make them experts in the field. She looks forward to seeing more growth in the nursing program; she hopes to introduce more innovative technology in the future to be used in the lab.
The Rend Lake College Foundation and RLC’s Nursing program hope to continue to foster a healthy relationship with Southern Illinois AHEC.
FROM LEFT; RLC Foundation Assistant Director of Development Amy Newell, Director of the South Illinois AHEC Program Gloria Przygoda, and RLC Director of Nursing Program Dr. Susan Wiley.
To learn more about RLC's Nursing Program, visit: https://rlc.edu/allied-health/nursing.