For Immediate Release:
August 5, 2020
Primary Media Contact:
Sally Voth
Public Relations Specialist
[email protected]
Phone: 540-868-7134
Laurel Ridge is pleased to announce that the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation (CMCF) has approved $817,050 in grant funding, which will allow the college to greatly expand its health education offerings to area high school students.
The first grant, for $448,529, will benefit nearly all of the college’s service regions through:
- Allowing the college to start offering an emergency medical technician (EMT) program at the Fauquier County Campus;
- Buying equipment for anatomy and physiology labs in Clarke and Shenandoah counties;
- Starting a pharmacy technician program for Fauquier County students;
- Upgrading the patient care technician program in Warren County;
- Creating a sports medicine credential program in Frederick County.
A separate grant from the CMCF is for $368,521 and will benefit the Luray-Page County Center currently under construction. It will be used to provide equipment for the health science lab and the general science lab in the new center, called Jenkins Hall, which is on track to open for the spring 2021 semester.
Students studying in one of the allied health programs at Jenkins Hall will be known as Claude Moore Scholars. The health courses that will be offered there include anatomy and physiology, nurse aide, registered and practical nursing, phlebotomy and physical therapy assisting.
Laurel Ridge sought the grants due to the need to prepare high school students for jobs in various health fields. Providing opportunities for them to dual enroll in Laurel Ridge and gain certifications and credentials will provide them the foundation to get stated on a career pathway. This will lead them to postsecondary education and employment, and can be built upon with more certifications and credentials.
“The Laurel Ridge community, including our secondary partners, is grateful to the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation for their support in enabling the region to create pathways for students to pursue health education programs,” Laurel Ridge Early College & High School Partnerships Dean Brenda Byard said. “Laurel Ridge works closely with healthcare employers and secondary partners to create programs that will meet local, regional, and statewide workforce needs.”
Buying Anatomage tables, or virtual dissection tables, for Clarke and Shenandoah counties will provide greater opportunities for the public schools’ Biomedical Academy, nurse aide, medical system administration, EMT, sports medicine and other pathways.
In Warren County, students can earn their nurse aide certification as juniors, and the grant will allow them to participate in the Patient Care Tech program, which will send them into the workforce with certifications in phlebotomy, EKG and patient care technician.
The grant will also allow the college to expand its EMT Academy to the Fauquier Campus, where students from Fauquier and Rappahannock counties can benefit.
Additionally, Fauquier County Public Schools will be able to start a pharmacy technician program that enables students to apply to Shenandoah University’s Pharmacy program after completing a science degree with 63 credits from Laurel Ridge. Many of the courses in the science degree are able to be dual enrolled.
The Claude Moore Charitable Foundation was established in 1987 by Dr. Claude Moore, a successful physician and Northern Virginia landowner who left most of his fortune in trust for the purpose of enhancing educational opportunities throughout the Commonwealth and beyond. Dr. Moore left his estate to the Foundation to increase its capacity for philanthropy.
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Founded in 1970, Laurel Ridge Community College is a multi-campus public institution of higher education. With four locations — Middletown, Warrenton, Luray-Page County and most recently, Vint Hill— the College serves eight localities in the Shenandoah Valley and northern Piedmont regions. The localities are the counties of Clarke, Fauquier, Frederick, Page, Rappahannock, Shenandoah and Warren and the city of Winchester. Laurel Ridge offers more than 75 associate degree and certificate programs in a wide variety of disciplines, in addition to providing access to bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs offered on site by a four-year institution. Laurel Ridge also serves the business community by offering workforce preparation programs for employees and employers. Laurel Ridge serves more than 9,000 unduplicated credit students and more than 11,000 individuals in professional development and business and industry courses annually.
Laurel Ridge Community College (Laurel Ridge) is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award associate degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Laurel Ridge Community College. Laurel Ridge Community College is an equal opportunity institution providing educational and employment opportunities, programs, services, and activities and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, age, religion, disability, national origin, marital status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, or other non-merit factors. Laurel Ridge also prohibits sexual misconduct including sexual violence or harassment.
Laurel Ridge Community College was known as Lord Fairfax Community College until June 2022. For consistency purposes, the college will be referenced as Laurel Ridge going forward.
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