Dr. Ned J. Sifferlen, President Emeritus of Sinclair, was all smiles as he toured the brand new Sifferlen Health Sciences Center during the open house Saturday, Oct. 7.
The new building, named in honor of Dr. Sifferlen houses some of the most advanced medical technology of any school. There was a sizeable turnout from the Dayton community for the open house, and they were given tours and demonstrations of the new facilities.
There were also many fun activities for the families which included a petting zoo, an obstacle course, a fire engine and multiple science demonstrations.
A great deal of non medical Sinclair departments made their presence at the event to demonstrate what they had to offer and raise awareness for the new building.
Sinclair chemistry professor Mike Canestaro was at the event representing his department with special live demonstrations of his show “Science With Mike.”
Some of the local hospitals were present providing free flu vaccinations, health and wellness screenings and mammogram screenings.
With a total cost of $31.5 million, Sinclair was able to build the new facility through both contributions and local taxes, as well as $8 million coming from the state capital budget.
Madeline Iseli, Vice President for Advancement at Sinclair, talked about the importance of keeping the facilities in the building up to date.
“Healthcare Providers are the largest employers that aggregate in this part of Ohio,” and because of this “we need to make sure our facilities, and our curriculum and our instructors are all up to date,” Iseli said.
The Dayton community relies on healthcare services, and Sinclair graduates represent a large number of employees working at the different healthcare providers in the area. The transition from a training environment to a fully functioning hospital was typically a long and expensive endeavor for these providers.
However, the new training facilities make this transition easier for students, as they are modeled after official hospital equipment to give Sinclair students experience as close to “real life” as possible. This is all in an effort to make Sinclair medical students more hireable to healthcare providers.
Another reason the new facility was built was to ensure Sinclair’s Health Sciences programs meet all criteria for being accredited. There are 17 separate accreditors for the different programs, and to meet their criteria the facilities needed to be updated.
Sinclair has long been considered one of the top community colleges in the state, especially in the medical field. The Ned J. Sifferlen Health Sciences Center ensures that this tradition continues well into the future.
Daniel Riley
Reporter