LCU awarded Delta Workforce Grant for nursing technology

April 10, 2024

Louisiana Christian University has been awarded more than $448,000 to develop its Responsive Nursing Technology in Education program from the Delta Regional Authority.

These funds will allow LCU’s nursing program to respond to the evolving demands of the healthcare industry and address the healthcare shortage in Louisiana.

This grant will pay for:

 

  • An Anatomage Table for Simulated Cadaver Dissection that will better prepare graduates for nursing practice and medical school. The PTA program will be able to use a new Anatomage Table Alpha which is one of the most innovative 3D anatomy learning solutions for advanced PTA anatomy and biology lessons. Stemming from the world-renowned Anatomage Table, the Alpha offers the same interactive dissection experience to explore real human and animal anatomy but in an instructional lab experience.
  • The CAE LearningSpace management platform for the LCU nursing simulation lab. This control center will provide audiovisual, scheduling management and assessment software with the right tools curated for teaching nursing students best practices.
  • The “Victoria” Birthing Simulator provides state-of-the-art simulation of childbirth for the best instruction possible for nursing students preparing to work in a women’s and children’s hospital or maternity ward.
  • Invacare Wheelchairs plus accessories are top-of-the-line medical equipment for training of PTA students who work with people with disabilities.
  • The 3B Scientific Human Anatomy Models are for instruction in the human body for PTA students and the ACE Course Score builders Review for PTA licensure will help get more PTA students out into the field.

 

The anatomage table is the only fully segmented real human 3D anatomy system. Users can visualize anatomy exactly as they would on a fresh cadaver. Individual structures are reconstructed in accurate 3D, resulting in an unprecedented level of real accurate anatomy, dissectible in 3D. Anatomy is presented as a fully interactive, life-sized touchscreen experience, in operatory bed form. The table allows for exploration and learning of human anatomy beyond what any cadaver could offer.

“The addition of the anatomage table will help prepare students majoring in the biological sciences for graduate experiences in post-graduate gross anatomy courses,” said Dr. Wade Warren, department coordinator and professor of biology. “Students seeking degrees in nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, physical therapy assistant, physician assistant, dentistry, medicine and pharmacy will all benefit from the exposure to the digitized cadaver experience. Recruitment of quality students will also be enhanced by the anatomage table experience.”

The provisions afforded by the Delta Workforce Grant will allow faculty to provide a strategic approach to learning by supporting didactic instruction with hands-on simulation, said Dr. Shaina Goudeau, associate vice president of the School of Nursing and Allied Health and PTA program director.

“This combined approach of instruction reinforces knowledge and understanding of content while bolstering student confidence in the classroom and performance in the clinical setting,” Goudeau said. “Additionally, the ability to produce safe and competent practitioners in the areas of healthcare supports the needs of the local community while simultaneously fulfilling the mission of Louisiana Christian University.”

The grant was co-written by Goudeau, Warren, and Dr. Tomekia Luckett, dean of the School of Nursing.

” I am elated that we have received this grant as it will be invaluable to our students and the school as we purchase new simulators,” Lucket said. “In recent years, healthcare as with other professions has made tremendous strides with technology, and I believe this grant will help us improve student and community outcomes.

This grant is one of the Mississippi-based DRA’s Delta Workforce Grants programs that awarded more than $10 million to 23 projects across Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.

“The Delta Workforce Grant Program makes targeted investments in initiatives and programs that support workforce employment and training needs in DRA’s region and helps create pathways to high-quality careers that allow residents to thrive and remain in their communities,” said DRA Federal Co-Chairman Dr. Corey Wiggins. “As a result of this investment, more than 2,000 individuals and 600 communities will benefit from these initiatives and programming providing industry-driven skills, training or certificates for high-demand jobs, ultimately helping to strengthen local workforce ecosystems and economic vitality throughout the region.”

 

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Media Release | April 9, 2024 | Pineville, Louisiana
Contact: Dr. Elizabeth B. Clarke, Director of University Communications | Elizabeth.clarke@lcuniversity.edu