NIH grant to promote ‘educational pipeline’ for careers in respiratory therapy

Division of Allied Health to partner with area schools

The program will help disadvantaged students enter school to earn a degree in respiratory therapy.

Cheryl Oprisko, assistant professor and program director for IU Northwest’s Respiratory Therapy Program, said that under the HCOP, the university will partner with Gary high schools and middle schools, the Gary Chamber of Commerce, and community organizations, local hospitals and churches. The project will promote the development of an “educational pipeline” for disadvantaged students in obtaining respiratory therapy degrees, as well as provide recruitment and preliminary education during summer and the academic year. Financial aid information, facilitation of entry activities, service learning experiences, counseling, mentoring and other services also will be offered.

The project includes participation in a six-week summer program at IU Northwest geared toward preparing students for a career in respiratory therapy. Twenty-five middle school and 25 high school students from Gary, along with 15 pre-professional students may participate. They will receive a daily stipend for expenses while in the summer program. Thirty-nine middle and high school students also will receive a daily stipend to attend the SAT program offered by the Gary Community School System.

“I am very pleased that this grant was awarded to us, especially knowing we are the only school in the state to receive it,” says Oprisko. “I look forward to working with all our community partners in providing this excellent program to Gary students. Many of these students may not otherwise have the opportunity to attend college—and I’m thrilled that we are able to provide this educational opportunity to them. One of the things I really look forward to is seeing these students all the way through to graduation, and then having them become a vital working force in our community.”

http://www.indiana.edu/campus/iu-northwest.html