Prairie State College receives $1 million grant

BY TIA CAROL JONES

Prairie State College has received a $1 million grant as part of the federal community project funding. The College will use the funds to advance its dental hygiene program. On Wednesday, March 15th, Congresswoman Robin Kelly presented a ceremonial check to Prairie State College’s President Dr. Michael Anthony.

“When Prairie State College told my office about their need to re-engage students, grow a state-of-the-art dental hygiene program, and invest in a modern network system to allow for uninterrupted learning, we got to work,” Congresswoman Kelly said in a release.

Prairie State College’s dental hygiene program is an 82-hour program which will result in an Associate in Applied Science degree. The goal of the program is to prepare the student to be employed as a dental hygienist. The program is fully accredited by the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation and meets the State of Illinois Board of Dentistry guidelines.

According to Anthony, the dental hygiene program is one of Prairie State College’s more popular healthcare programs. Last year, there were between 40-50 students enrolled in the dental hygiene program. In the dental assistant program, there were between 15-20 students enrolled. Last semester, the College unveiled its full service, state-of-the-art dental hygiene clinic. The clinic is used to teach students and to service community members. There also is a dental assistant program, which is stackable, and enables students to get their first level of training and get employment and come back later to get a dental hygiene degree.

“We knew we had the capacity to take almost double the number of students, but we had to utilize our simulation lab to do so,” Anthony said. The simulation lab needs major renovation to enable students to get the best training. Once renovations and updates are made to the simulation lab, it can expand the capacity. Because the program is hands-on, more space is needed. The aim is also to help people meet their workforce goals sooner.

“With this grant, we will establish a state-ofthe-art simulation laboratory and will provide a safe and controlled environment for students to practice their clinical skills,” Rebecca Buckle, associate professor of the clinical coordinator in the dental hygiene program, said in a release. “The sim lab will enable our students to gain valued hands-on experience, which will increase their confidence and competence in delivering dental hygiene and assisting services and procedures, including preventative care, restorative and periodontal treatments.”

Prairie State College will host its Healthy Smiles Day, which provides free dental care for children ages 3-17, on Saturday, April 22nd. To set up an appointment, call 708-709-3707. On the same day, between 10 a.m. and noon, Prairie State College will host an Open House. At the Open House, people can talk to faculty and students.

For more information about the dental hygiene program, visit https://tinyurl.com/3z67ejtw, and visit prairiestate.edu for more information about Prairie State College.

Gov. Pritzker Announces New Behavioral Health Workforce Education Center

SPRINGFIELD — Governor JB Pritzker along with state and local officials celebrated the launch of a new Behavioral Health Workforce Education Center, which will increase Illinois’ capacity to recruit, educate, and retain behavioral health professionals. The Center builds upon the state’s commitment to behavioral health transformation, strengthening behavioral health care infrastructure and access across the state.

Housed at Southern Illinois University’s School of Medicine, the Center was created in partnership with the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) Jane Addams College of Social Work, the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE), and the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS).

“From care portals and universal screenings to improved coordination of service delivery and increased statewide capacity, we are laying out a plan to build the best behavioral health system in the nation,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “We’re launching the Behavioral Health Workforce Education Center, a partnership between the Illinois Board of Higher Education, Southern Illinois University’s School of Medicine, and the University of Illinois Chicago’s Jane Addams College of Social Work. It will begin with a $5 million annual investment from the Department of Human Services to help both rural and urban areas of our state address the behavioral healthcare crisis to increase access to effective services for all Illinoisans.”

In Illinois and across the nation, behavioral health professionals are only able to provide a fraction of the services required to meet the population’s needs due to a national shortage of workers. The Center was established to combat these critical shortages in the workforce by addressing barriers to recruitment and training, collecting data on behavioral health needs, increasing diversity in the workforce, and expanding the capacity of health care providers to meet behavioral health needs.

Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (SIU SOM) will serve as the primary administrative hub in Springfield, providing coordination and support for building the behavioral health workforce pipeline and increasing entry into the field. The UIC Jane Addams College of Social Work will serve as the secondary hub, supporting specific data collection and training initiatives.

Public and independent universities, as well as community colleges in ten regions, will be invited to participate as partners to increase the statewide impact.

The creation of the Center is a milestone in a long-term plan to address the behavioral health workforce emergency. State lawmakers sounded an alarm about the staffing shortages in a unanimous 2018 resolution. In 2019, a Behavioral Health Workforce Education Center Task Force issued a final report recommending the creation of a hub-and-spoke center to address unmet mental and behavioral health needs.

SIU SOM, UIC Jane Addams College of Social Work, and all consortium members will coordinate programs and oversee initiatives to increase the behavioral healthcare workforce and its capacity to provide high-quality behavioral health services across the state.

“Everyone deserves equal access to behavioral and mental health care services. I’m pleased to hear that Behavioral Health Education Centers are being offered in partnership with the Dept. of Human Services, the Illinois Board of Higher Education, and key agencies to collaboratively bring more mental health workers to communities that badly need them,” said State Senator Mike Simmons (D-Chicago). “This initiative will help grow the number of behavioral health emergency workers and provide people in our community with the support they need and deserve.”

“The shortage of behavioral health workers needs to be met with a firm commitment to proactive education programs,” said State Representative Lakesia Collins, (D-Chicago). “By centralizing efforts for behavior health education, we can spur the growth of well-trained professionals in this field, and provide much-needed assistance to countless Illinoisans who need caregivers.”

“I commend and thank Governor Pritzker for prioritizing behavioral health workforce development in Illinois. The Workforce Center is an opportunity to transform the system to make it more responsive to the needs of individuals, families and children in this State,” said Grace B. Hou, Secretary, Illinois Department of Human Services. “IDHS is energized to work with our partners to strengthen the infrastructure needed to provide critical services to those in need.”