Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By Kris Harrell

Reid State Technical College celebrated the grand opening of its Georgiana Instructional Service Center Wednesday, Feb. 5. The location will host practical nursing training and adult education, providing students in Butler County and the surrounding area with a place to earn certifications close to home. 

The center is an Alabama Centers for Rural Healthcare Opportunity Initiative site, funded by a grant from the Alabama Community College System. The grant’s goal is to address the demand for qualified nurses and nursing professionals in rural communities through training. 

“We wrote the grant to open up additional practical nursing training facilities in rural areas,” said Augusta Watters, the coordinator of institutional advancement and grants for Reid State Technical College. “We submitted our application in 2023-24, and with all the red tape and going through the different accreditation processes it took us to this point to get everything up and running. 

“So, we are just thankful to be in Georgiana and be part of this community. Outreach is what we do, so we want to reach as many people in as many ways as we can, and the closer we are to the community and the students that are in that community, [the opening] makes it more accessible for them.” 

The Georgiana site has classrooms for adult education and practical nursing, including a simulation lab designed to look like a standard hospital room. Students within the practical nursing program will be able to gain hands-on experience working in a life-like environment. 

To further this hands-on experience, the center has a CAE Apollo, an advanced patient simulator that helps students learn how to diagnose, treat and respond to emergency situations with patients.  

“Apollo is able to mock a code – having a heart attack, coughing [or] sneezing,” said Karen Barnes, director of Nursing for Reid State. “He also can bleed. Whatever you program the scenario to be, he will do that scenario for you, and the students have to figure out what to do when this happens. It makes them use their critical thinking [skills] to save Apollo’s life.” 

Classes officially started Jan. 8 with 16 practical nursing students. After the ribbon cutting last Wednesday, learners can now use the center’s space. 

“We are beyond excited because it’s definitely been a venture trying to get here,” said Dr. Coretta Boykin, president of Reid State Technical College. “To finally be at the point where now our students can come in and begin to enjoy the space, it is truly a blessing and we’re glad to be where we are today.” 

For more information about Reid State Technical College and the center, visit www.rstc.edu or contact the college at (251) 578-1313.