Lake Technical College expands partnership with Orlando Health South Lake Hospital and brings more healthcare training to south Lake County
Lake Technical College and Orlando Health South Lake Hospital are working together to address the critical nursing shortage and support health care education in south Lake County. This April, Lake Technical College will begin offering a full-time practical nursing program on the Orlando Health South Lake campus in Clermont.
The mission of Lake Technical College is to be an integral component of the economic growth and development in our communities by offering a variety of high quality career-education and training opportunities. “Our partnership with Orlando Health South Lake Hospital provides us with a new location and the ability to train more nurses for critical positions in healthcare,” said DeAnna Thomas, Executive Director of Lake Technical College. “Lake Tech has offered a high-performing practical nursing program with great success for over 40 years. This partnership will allow a deeper level of real-world immersion and experiences for students, directly resulting in a more experienced graduate.”
Collaborative partnerships between industry and education provide students with an innovative, hands-on training experience for nursing students to interact directly with hospital staff with a direct path to employment. “Orlando Health South Lake Hospital is pleased to partner with Lake Technical College and other educational programs in our community to better equip students to be highly skilled healthcare professionals,” said Bonnie Onofre, chief nursing officer, Orlando Health South Lake. “We know this type of close, intentional collaboration not only benefits students, but healthcare at large. We’re proud to support the next generation of licensed practical nurses, registered nurses and other healthcare professionals.”
The program begins April 3 and will run full-time, Monday – Thursday from 8:00am – 4:00pm. Program completion takes one year and prepares students for immediate employment in the nursing field. Additionally, students will receive 17 credits toward the Associate of Science degree in Nursing at Lake Sumter State College through the RN bridge program. Lake Tech offers additional healthcare programming such as patient care technician, phlebotomy, pharmacy technician, medical assisting, emergency medical technician, paramedic, and IV therapy.