Up-to-date: CATA's health sciences department gets upgrade

Oct. 20—The Cullman Area Technology Academy welcomed members of the community Tuesday for an open house and tour of the school's newly-renovated health sciences department.

Over the summer, the health science department received a major facelift of its flooring, walls and lights, along with new equipment and the construction of a model surgical suite. The end result is a teaching environment that is designed to be as close to a real-life hospital setting as possible, said health science instructor Tracy Smith.

"If we train them on out-of-date equipment, then when they go into facilities for clinicals, we've not really done any good," she said.

Smith said the renovation was spearheaded by the maintenance department's Wesley Laney after getting the go-ahead from the members of the school board and superintendent Shane Barnette, and the school worked with Wallace State Community College and local medical facilities to fit the needs of the community.

She said the program recently received a visit from a surgeon who spoke to the class about his field, and he came away impressed with the new technology that is now available for the students, Smith said.

"Some of the stuff is just as nice as the OR, if not nicer," she said.

Smith also made sure to thank everyone involved in the project to bring the health sciences program up-to-date with current standards for the school's students.

"It's humbling," she said. "I don't know how to describe it."

The renovation of the health sciences facility has also impressed former and current students in the program.

Taylor Jenkins, who graduated in 2020 and went to work at Cullman Regional, said the upgraded facility is much closer to her current workplace than the previous classroom she learned in.

"This is amazing," she said. "I feel like it's going to teach them a lot."

Current student Raigan Easterwood said she was also impressed after coming back from summer break and seeing the upgrades.

"I was blown away completely, and I was super excited to see what we were going to learn about this year," she said. "A bunch of windows have opened for me and my classmates this year, and we are super grateful that the county was able to provide us with these new instruments and simulators."

Easterwood said she wants to go into the medical field and is considering working either in surgery or labor and delivery when she graduates, and getting a better look at some of her options through the health sciences program is helping her make her decision.

"It'll definitely prepare me for whatever I want to do in the future," she said.

Smith said students can begin attending CATA's health sciences program as early as ninth grade to get a look at some of the different career opportunities available in the field, and when they are seniors, they can work for their CNA certification to be able to get a job right out of high school.

While the renovation will help students work toward their goals, the students also take part in a lot of community service projects, and the facility can be used for programs like CPR training courses for civic groups and churches or other similar programs to help the residents of Cullman County, Smith said.

"It's not just healthcare," she said. "We want this to represent our whole community."