The power of partnerships in expanding access to high-quality health care education was on display at official opening of the Oakton College Health Careers Education Center at 2500 Ridge Ave on Tuesday.
Leaders from Oakton and Endeavor Health joined industry professionals, students, elected officials and community members for the Center’s dedication ceremony, ribbon-cutting, and tours of the Center’s state-of-the-art labs and classrooms.
In her welcome remarks, Oakton College President Joianne Smith said that Oakton and Endeavor Health came together “with a shared mission — to serve our community.”
Smith said the new Health Careers Education Center marks Oakton’s first physical location in Evanston, the largest community in Oakton’s district.
“This new instructional space extends Oakton’s ability to deliver quality training that is helping us address critical workforce needs throughout the region,” said Smith, who joined Oakton’s administration in 2002.
Located in Endeavor Health Evanston Hospital’s COS Building, the new facility was made possible in part by an $800,000 Congressional Directed Spending grant secured by U.S. sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin, both of whom represent Illinois. The funding helped purchase training equipment.
Durbin, who attended the dedication in person and made remarks, thanked Duckworth for working alongside him to bring more federal resources to health care projects. “This was a team effort, but she was the leader of the team,” said Durbin, adding, “Oakton College and Endeavor Health make an amazing combination and partnership.”
He noted that Oakton has a well-established reputation for its Registered Nursing Programs, which are consistently ranked among the top in Illinois. “From surgical technicians to radiographers and nurses, the Oakton College Health Careers Education Center will play a key role in strengthening our health care system,” Durbin said.
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Oakton Dean of Health Careers May Alimboyoguen, right, gives a tour of the Cardiac Sonography Lab. Credit: Heidi Randhava -
Assistant Professor of Surgical Technology Mary Ellen Girgis welcomes visitors to the Surgical Tech Lab. Credit: Heidi Randhava -
From left: Oakton College Radiography instructor and Endeavor Health radiologic technologist Roksolana Nayda, teaches radiography students Felicity Rivas, of Morton Grove, Sameer Lodhi, of Skokie, and Holli Nester-Detweiler of Evanston, Credit: Oakton College photo.
The Health Careers Education Center features advanced classrooms and laboratories for three new healthcare-focused Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree programs in Cardiac Sonography, Radiography and Surgical Technology. The first group of students began their studies this summer.
Beheshta Haidari is among the students in the Center’s AAS degree program. “
I am a proud student of the Oakton College Cardiac Sonography program, which is a two-year program,” said Haidari, who immigrated to the U.S. from Afghanistan in 2021.
“I started at Oakton College in 2022 … I have been impressed with medical fields since I was in high school and I had completed medical school in 2018 in Afghanistan. This program is wonderful. I am excited for these two years,” Haidari said. She spoke about her personal experience as a first semester student.
“The [Health Careers Education] Center is a very welcoming place and inclusive community,” Haidari said. “All the advisors, instructors and staff are working in an effort to help us grow as students and be successful in this program … Once we finish, then we will be able to get a job in the community and serve for this country.”
North Shore Hospitals and Evanston Hospital president Gabrielle Cummings called the dedication of the Health Careers Education Center “a momentous occasion for the future well-being of Evanston and beyond.”
In her role as president of North Shore Hospitals, Cummings leads Glenbrook, Highland Park and Skokie hospitals, in addition to serving as president of Evanston Hospital. The hospitals are a core group of hospitals within the NorthShore University Health System — now a group of nine hospitals that comprise Endeavor Health, the third largest health system in Illinois.
“I want to extend my sincere gratitude to Oakton College as our partner in this endeavor, to Dr. Joianne Smith, president at Oakton College, and Gus Granchelek, who is the president of Skokie Hospital and the lead for Endeavor Health in making this venture happen,” said Cummings in her opening remarks.
Cummings emphasized that the partnership between Oakton and Endeavor Health contributes to the health and vitality of the community. “The Health Careers Education Center directly addresses a critical need to ensure access to quality health care careers for individuals right here in Evanston,” Cummings said.
Granchelek, an Evanston Township High School alum who was born and raised in Evanston, called the dedication “a truly remarkable day.” In his remarks, he spoke about the efforts that led to the opening of the Center.
“Four years ago, we recognized a critical need for skilled cardiac sonographers, radiographers and surgical technicians,” Granchelek said. “We saw an opportunity to partner with Oakton College to develop this work force… Working alongside [Oakton] Dean of Health Careers May Alimboyoguen, we dreamed big. The shared vision we had to create this special opportunity grounded us as we encountered the inevitable bumps along the way. Oakton’s expertise in high quality, affordable education combined with Eandeavor Health clinical excellence resulted in a truly unique and innovative program.”
In an interview with the RoundTable as the event concluded, Alimboyoguen spoke about her role as Dean of Health Careers at Oakton, and the shared vision that led to the Oakton College Health Careers Education Center.
“I oversee and support the faculty as they deliver their instruction to students. I love my role at the college because, for health careers in general, we know that they change the lives of students and their families. [This program] is something that, when they complete it, we know that there’s employment at the end and sustaining wages for individuals and for their families. So, it really makes a difference,” Alimboyoguen said.
As for working alongside Granchelek and others at Endeavor Health, she said it was a memorable and rewarding experience.
“I personally love things that are innovative, so a partnership like this has been really exciting. To go from concept to actual opening and ribbon cutting is really amazing.”
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