LCCC receives $100,000 to upgrade dental hygiene training

ELYRIA — Lorain County Community College will receive more than $100,000 from the state to purchase equipment to help fill local and regional workforce needs. The money was announced Wednesday as a part of $8 million in funding which is part of the Ohio Department of Higher Education's Regionally Aligned Priorities in Delivering Skills (RAPIDS) grants. "Making sure we're preparing our workforce of tomorrow to fill all of the incredible job opportunities in Ohio is really a team effort," Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel said in the release. "By investing in this state-of-the-art equipment so more students can access it, and by taking regional workforce needs into consideration, this program will position more of our kids to be career ready the moment they graduate." The program provides funding for universities, community colleges and career centers to purchase equipment that helps train students to fill needs in Ohio's workforce. LCCC received $107,743.80 in the round of funding. In the release, the college said the money would be used to purchase equipment for its dental hygiene program. The funding is part of a $179,000 collaborative grant with EHOVE Career Center and Medina County Career Center. The money will be used to purchase new dental training equipment to enhance students' clinical training and expand access to community dental services. "This RAPIDS investment allows us to modernize the equipment in our dental hygiene clinic, which launched in 1997," said Tracy Green, vice president of strategic and institutional development at LCCC, in a release. "The new equipment will provide our students with the opportunity to train on the same advanced technology they'll use in today's dental offices while also improving the care experience for hundreds of community members who rely on our public clinic each year." LCCC's dental hygiene students complete more than 600 clinical hours and treat at least 40 patients during their time in the program. The college said an estimated 840 patients visit its dental clinic annually, and they will benefit from the new equipment along with students. The RAPIDS grant will also be used by the EHOVE Career Center to purchase new sterile processing equipment for its surgical technology students. "We're proud to work in partnership with EHOVE and Medina County Career Center to meet the evolving needs of our regional health care employers," Green said. "This grant is one more way we're helping students build rewarding, high-wage careers while strengthening our community's health care infrastructure." Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.