Gaye Catlin, former assistant to Dr. Cynthia Maskey, dean of health professions, returned to campus Friday to speak to occupational therapy assistant students about her recovery from traumatic injuries suffered in a fall at her home in December, 2019. Accompanied by her husband, Scott Catlin, and Dr. Maskey, Gaye told students how important their work is, even though patients “may not like them at the time.” She encouraged them to be persistent yet understanding with patients as they work on various therapy strategies. She said they would be appreciated later when patients realized how their assistance helped them regain strength and mobility. 

Dr. Yvonne Cosentino, director, OTA program, said the visit was very special and valuable to her class. “Thank you to Dr. Maskey for arranging an OTA program guest speaker visit with Gaye Catlin. This is Gaye’s first visit back to Health Professions  after experiencing a lifechanging injury. Gaye and her husband  shared their very personal experience with students in the second year OTA cohort.  Students asked pertinent questions and received honest feedback from Gaye who went through an extensive rehabilitation process. This invaluable experience will support the future practices of our LLCC OTA students through an understanding of the rehab process from the perspective of the client. The OTA program is grateful for the time Gaye and Scott took away from their busy schedules and look forward to future visits! What a wonderful start to April, the National Occupational Therapy Celebration Month!”

LLCC’s nursing program hosted a career fair for ADN students yesterday. More than 12 hiring managers were present from a variety of health care agencies in the community. Several students attended the event.

This event is coordinated each semester and is just one of the opportunities that students have while in the program to interact with potential employers of varying disciplines.

LLCC’s associate degree radiography program recently purchased a Carestream Revolution DRX portable X-ray unit, and the students are putting it to good use! This X-ray unit is very similar to the portable X-ray units used in the hospitals LLCC uses as clinical sites. The purchase of this X-ray unit allows the X-ray students the ability to practice portable imaging and to become very familiar with the unit prior to starting as well as throughout their clinical education.

The ADN program hosted a transfer fair for nursing students yesterday, March 16. Representatives from 12 colleges and universities were present to share details with students about continuing their nursing education after earning their associate degrees. Many students attended, and several even signed agreements to attend for their BSN degrees. The transfer fair is part of a two-day event hosted each semester in LLCC’s Nursing Education Center. The second day will feature a career fair in which hiring managers from a variety of health care organizations in the community are invited. It will be held on Thursday, March 30.