News

March 13, 2009

LCCC safety institute gets $150K from recent federal spending bill

Times Leader staff

NANTICOKE – Luzerne County Community College will receive $150,000 for a Public Safety Training Institute. The federal funds were among hundreds of billions of dollars included in the recently approved 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Bill.

The LCCC center will train law enforcement and other emergency responders. It will provide training to 151 police departments, 352 fire departments and 21 hospitals.

Both U.S. Sens. Arlen Specter, R-Philadelphia, and Bob Casey, D-Scranton, voted in favor of the bill. So did U.S. Reps. Chris Carney, D-Dimock, and Paul E. Kanjorski, D- Nanticoke.

“This funding will have tremendous impact on local communities by enhancing safety,” Specter said in a press release.

Other area hospitals and universities also secured funding. Among them are:

• $951,000 for the Commonwealth Medical College in Scranton to develop a regional Clinical Skills and Simulation Center to train health professionals to work in a team in a safe environment to reduce medical errors and improve quality of care.

• $95,000 for Clearbrook, Inc. in Luzerne County for a substance abuse and treatment program that involves families of those receiving treatment as a method to improve patients’ recovery.

$95,000 for Hazleton General Hospital for renovation and equipment to implement a Physician Care Management system.

$95,000 for Misericordia University in Dallas Township for construction, renovation and equipment for the university’s College of Health Sciences, which will provide academic instruction in a variety of health care disciplines.

$95,000 for Wyoming Valley Health Care System Hospital for an Electronic Medical Records system for electronic charting.

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