News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
TCAT McMinnville has been awarded a $500,000 Reimagine Engage And Develop for Innovation grant.
TCAT McMinnville President Melody Edmonds said the school plans to use the grant to purchase training equipment for various programs the school offers. Edmonds said the school is purchasing training equipment to better prepare students and keep up with industry needs.
“I believe when these students go out to work and they find themselves looking at these machines they are not going to be intimidated,” Edmonds said. “They are going to be ready to go. They are going to say I’ve seen this before, I’ve worked on this. I am ready just let me have at it.”
TCAT McMinnville Dual Enrollment Coordinator Michele Chamberlain said part of the equipment purchased is an OBGYN Patient Simulator. Chamberlain said Practical Nursing students will now receive better training in an area like helping deliver a baby.
“We are really excited about this one because right now the facilities that our students work in they don’t have a unit to be able to work in,” Chamberlain said. “So this will give them those hands-on pieces that the students will need.”
The grant awarded $2.7 million to eleven different TCAT schools through the federal Perkins Grant Program. Chamberlain said the grant is very competitive and it was an honor to finally be one of the eleven schools that received grant funding.
“We have tried to do this before and have not been quite so successful,” Chamberlain said. “But this time we were able to receive it. The other thing is right now this is probably the last Reimagine Engage And Develop for Innovation grant that Perkins is going to do for quite some time.”
Edmonds said the faculty is ready to do some cartwheels on how excited they are about receiving the grant and being able to provide innovative equipment for their programs. Chamberlain said the school expects to have all the equipment for every program by springtime.
