Aims approves new certificate program, may build student health clinic

GREELEY — Aims Community College will add an acute care nurse aide certificate to its menu of educational opportunities, beginning this fall.

The community college may also build a campus health center to be operated by Sunrise Community Health, although a decision on that capital project will come at a later board of directors meeting.

The Aims board met Wednesday in both a study session and a formal meeting at which decisions could be made.

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David Oehler, vice president of academic affairs, told the Aims board that the college offers a nurses-aide program, but it tends to be directed toward long-term care needs in the region. In conversations with both UCHealth Greeley Hospital and Banner’s North Colorado Medical Center, the college determined that it needs a certificate program to help certified nursing assistants develop skills suitable for use in acute care settings.

A four-credit program was devised; it will include two credits of theory, one credit of lab work and one credit of clinical practice, he said.

Target audience for the certificate program would be existing CNA graduates.

Fiscal impact of the new certificate program would be about $40,000, which includes both equipment and curriculum development.

The board voted unanimously to approve the program.

On an unrelated matter, the board heard an appeal to create a student health center on campus. A decision on that will come at a later board meeting.

But the materials presented to the board showed that as many as 83% of students might make use of an on-campus health center, and about half of Aims students have challenges obtaining health care.

The Aims population tends to include large numbers of students who might be considered low income; 33% of Aims students receive Pell grants in order to attend school.

For that reason, Aims sought a partnership with Sunrise Community Health, which provides primary health care to people without regard to income level or insurance and uses a sliding fee scale for patients unable to pay full rates.

Sunrise has 12 clinics in the Larimer and Weld county region, with three of those in school settings, according to Mitzi Moran, CEO of Sunrise.

Proposed is a 20,000-square-foot building that would provide medical, dental and behavioral health services to students and their families. Total capital cost for that facility would be $18.4 million, compared with $21.7 million for the recently approved aircraft maintenance facility at the Northern Colorado Regional Airport and $25.5 million for the college’s Workforce Innovation Center.

The health center would be built on the Greeley campus, with three potential locations. A location along 20th Street in Greeley is preferred.

Aims would provide the building and maintenance; Sunrise would provide most of the health care services.