New Healthcare Suite Opens at Newburgh Armory

NEWBURGH – The Newburgh Armory Unity Center unveiled their revolutionary K Through Careers Program to the public Saturday morning, along with their partners St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital, Marist College, Mount Saint Mary’s College and Newburgh Free Academy, showing off their high-tech hospital lab area.

The program allows any student from Kindergarten to 12th grade to apply for the 12-week course that gives students practical experience with up-to-date medical training equipment, such as: x-ray displays and computerized patient dummies. The curriculum is new, but is adjusted for each age of student, based on their current understanding and practicality.

NFA has, for some time, offered a nursing training program for high schoolers; however, head of Marketing and Special Projects at the Armory, Andy Komonchak, said this program, like all other Armory programs, is based on a foundation of promoting literacy – allowing those enrolled in the program to check out any book from their vast library, including technical literature on the subject.

Komonchak said this is no coincidence, explaining that the colleges that have worked with the high school’s nursing program voiced their concern over students’ literacy, science and math skills.

“You’re bringing us young men and women that know how to take a pulse, that do all the things that they learn at nursing practicum, but they’re short in literacy, and maybe math skills, maybe science skills; so, they have to have a period of remediation before they get into college,” Komonchak said the armory was told by higher education institutions.

Linda Romano, health science educator at NFA North and developer of the program’s nursing curriculum, said she has already seen results with regards to literacy, critical thinking and practical skills, even with students of very young ages. What’s more, she is seeing growth, from early on, in the areas of emotional IQ and empathy from students of an age where such maturity is uncommon. She said the program is a paradigm shift in the way students are being taught career skills.

“It was happening even before we called it that,” said Romano. “This Kindergarten to Career project is going to be amazing and I can’t wait to get that steering committee rolling because just building the curriculum and watching what we already have happening develop into something more formal, and to see the results.”

Romano added that launching the unprecedented program was made much easier due to benefactor Bill Kaplan’s excitement and support.

After the public unveiling Kaplan was speechless.

“It’s hard to explain because it’s all so spectacular,” said Kaplan.

The K Through Careers Program begins its next 12-week session on February 24.

Thus far, there are approximately 400 students of varying ages enrolled. They will be offering three, four-week, sessions during the summer and are planning on expanding the program to include criminal justice and computer science, all areas that are lacking in the workforce, Komonchak said.

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