Radiography students support breast cancer awareness – and the profession’s role in early detection.Aptly attired, dental hygiene students and faculty paint the clinic pink.
Penn College programs went pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. On Oct. 9, radiography students dressed in pink. Potential workplaces for radiographers include mammography centers. The dental hygiene program held a “Pink Out” on Oct. 23. Throughout the day, students, faculty and dentists donned pink gowns during patient care activities in the Dental Hygiene Clinic. In addition, the dental hygiene student organization, SADHA, is making a monetary donation to a local cancer patient support charity. Photos provided by program directors Christine L. Eckenrod (radiography) and Shawn A. Kiser (dental hygiene)
Pennsylvania College of Technology students provided dental care to more than 2,000 patients in the college’s Dental Hygiene Clinic during the 2018-19 academic year.
The college’s state-of-the-art Dental Hygiene Clinic is open to the public and provides low-cost services that include cleanings, exams, X-rays and sealants.
Since many patients require more than one visit, the students provided a total of 4,138 patient appointments.
Dental hygiene student Tyler J. Wetzel-Haynes, of Ono, performs a head and neck screening during the Kiwanis Club of Bald Eagle and Nittany Valleys’ “Go Gold” childhood cancer event.
On Sept. 21, dental hygiene students participated in a “Go Gold” event hosted by the Kiwanis Club of Bald Eagle and Nittany Valleys to raise awareness of childhood cancer. During the event, which was held in the Mill Hall Volunteer Fire Co., students performed free oral abnormality and head and neck screenings, which can help to detect oral cancer. They collaborated with health sciences students from Lock Haven University and networked with other community partners. The Penn College students were supervised by Bridget E. Motel, instructor of dental hygiene. This was the local Kiwanis club’s fourth “Go Gold” event. Photo provided
About 140 professionals attend a Sept. 20 oral health conference in the Bush Campus Center.
Penn College’s dental hygiene program joined forces with the North Central Pennsylvania Area Health Education Center to co-sponsor a dental continuing education program. Held Sept. 20 in Penn’s Inn, the program featured presentations on HPV by Dr. Lynn Williams, who discussed “HPV and Prevention,” and Registered Dental Hygienist Debbie Zafiropoulos, who covered “How to Screen for Oral Cancers.” The well-attended event attracted about 140 dental professionals. Photo provided
Among the latest additions to the Pennsylvania College of Technology community are new full-time faculty members for the Fall 2019 semester, as provided by the Human Resources Office (all effective Aug. 15).
A dozen residential Pre-College Programs and a daytime Creative Art Camp brought hundreds of young women and men to Penn College’s campuses in mid-June, providing hands-on entry to the myriad career opportunities reflected in the institution’s postsecondary curriculum. Keeping campers (and PCToday photographers) busy in recent days were these fun learning opportunities, some of which involved culminating projects: Architecture Odyssey, Autism Spectrum Post-Secondary Interest Experience (ASPIE), Automotive Restoration, Aviation, Building Construction (new this year), Creative Art Camp, Engineering, Future Restaurateurs, Graphic Design Summer Studio, Grow & Design Horticulture, Health Careers, Information Technology and SMART (Science and Math in Real-world Technologies) Girls.
The college’s newest (and most lifelike) medical mannequin is introduced by Christopher T. Boyer (left), director of paramedic technology programs, and Sandra L. Richmond (right), dean of nursing and health sciences. Getting a closer look are (from right) Sens. Yaw, Phillips-Hill and Ward – a registered nurse.Bradley M. Webb, assistant dean of industrial, computing and engineering technologies, explained the processes taught in three of the college’s plastics labs: thermoforming, blow-molding and rotational molding. First stop? Thermoforming, where Webb shows how clamshell packaging is produced.
A pair of first-term state senators visited Penn College on Thursday, stopping by several academic areas in the School of Nursing & Health Sciences and the School of Industrial, Engineering & Computing Technologies. The tour, abbreviated by a stormy forecast (but no less valuable), took Sens. Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-York) and Judy Ward (R-Altoona) to nursing, dental hygiene and three labs in the college’s ABET-accredited plastics program. The tour covered substantial ground: In addition to curricular information on all six schools, the legislators were apprised of the college’s integral corporate advisers, the focused global experiences of students traveling abroad, high-profile internship opportunities, and the essential contributions of equipment and expertise by business and industry. Also on the tour were President Davie Jane Gilmour; state Sen. Gene Yaw, chairman of the college’s board of directors; Michael J. Reed, vice president for academic operations/associate provost; Patrick Marty, chief of staff and assistant to the president for college relations; Zack Moore, vice president for government and community relations at Penn State; Jon Hopcraft, chief of staff to Phillips-Hill; and Senate photographer Christopher J. Guerrisi.
A bipartisan group of state legislators, all present for President Davie Jane Gilmour’s budget request to the Senate Appropriations Committee in February, got a follow-up look at Penn College during a trip to main campus on Tuesday. Touring a number of instructional labs with Sen. Gene Yaw (chairman of the college’s board of directors), administrators, faculty and staff were Sen. Art Haywood (D-Cheltenham), minority chair of the Health and Human Services Committee; Sen. Thomas H. Killion (R-Middletown), who chairs the Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee; Sen. Daniel Laughlin (R-Erie), chair of the Game and Fisheries Committee; and Sen. Sharif Street (D-Philadelphia), minority chairman of the Banking and Insurance Committee. Along for the visit were H. Fred Walker, director of Erie County Technical School; Kendall Alexander, Haywood’s communications director; and three members of Street’s staff: policy assistant Micah Mahjoubian, legislative aide Angel Betancourt and special assistant Kenneth Carter. Some members of the Senate contingent, who collectively represent highly populated areas from Erie in the northwest to Philadelphia in the southeast corner of the commonwealth, also enjoyed lunch in Le Jeune Chef Restaurant.
Gearhart (left) and Harkins team up for dental hygiene.
Second-year student Hailey A. Gearhart joined forces with 1992 alumna Michele D. (Heitsenrether) Harkins on Friday to represent the Penn College dental hygiene program at a Philipsburg-Osceola High School career fair. During the event, the duo interacted with approximately 100 prospective students from grades 9-12. Photo provided
Students from Penn College’s School of Nursing & Health Sciences and School of Sciences, Humanities & Visual Communications joined area law enforcement, emergency management and health care professionals in a recent simulation at UPMC Susquehanna Williamsport Regional Medical Center and a variety of other locations.
The college’s paramedic program has participated in the drill since its inception, and this year, the School of Nursing & Health Sciences decided to participate schoolwide to provide an interdisciplinary learning opportunity. The school had conducted its own Interdisciplinary Professional Experience on campus for several years.
In the church’s kitchen, students form an assembly line to pack giveaway bags with toothpaste and toothbrushes.The crew of helpers: Front row (from left): dental hygiene students Hailey A. Gearhart, of Phillipsburg; Kaeli A. Plezia, of Sellersville; Taylor E. Allison, of Allport; Emily N. Renninger, of East Greenville; Jordyn M. Kahler, of York; and Megan P. Fitzsimmons, of Portville, N.Y., with Nolan Strouse. Back row (from left): dental hygiene student Pavel Dariychuk, of Leola, with Derek W. Baldwin, a physician assistant studies student, Barbara K. Emert-Strouse, Robert Strouse and Scott Neff II, ’16. Also helping was dental hygiene student Christina M. Kiessling, of Muncy.
For the ninth year, faculty member Barbara K. Emert-Strouse, assistant professor of dental hygiene, and her family, joined by several dental hygiene students, provided a “pay it forward” dinner at Christ Episcopal Church on Mulberry Street. The group served around 180 diners with a menu of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, Jell-O with fruit, and cake. They also offered free toothbrushes and toothpaste. The church serves a free “First Saturday” community dinner each month, and the family – including sons Scott L. Neff II, a 2016 culinary arts and systems graduate, and Derek W. Baldwin, a physician assistant studies student – provides one of those monthly dinners each spring. The April 6 dinner and the Penn College crew helping to serve it were featured on WBRE. Photos provided
The Commission on Dental Accreditation recently approved continued accreditation for Pennsylvania College of Technology’s dental hygiene program through 2025.
The Commission on Dental Accreditation is a specialized accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. It serves the public and the profession by developing and implementing accreditation standards that promote and monitor the continuous quality and improvement of dental education programs.
Dental hygiene students provide fun learning stations for families visiting the event. Standing, from left, are Lori M. Weaver, of Newmanstown; Hailey A. Gearhart, of Philipsburg; Dana L. Kraft, of Royersford; Samantha K. Steiger, of Howard; and Michayla J. Roberts, of Newville. Kneeling are Sydney E. Brewer, of Gettysburg, and Staci M. Senior, of State College.Weaver shows youngsters the best way to brush teeth.Student Kelsey L. McKenrick, of Gilbertsville, provides services to a youngster.From left, students Madison P. Weaver, of Belleville; Shelby L. Schreiber, of Saint Marys; and McKaila F. Daniels, of Roulette, practice their skill in the college’s well-equipped dental hygiene clinic to serve the community.
The college’s dental hygiene program partnered with the Pennsylvania Dental Hygienists’ Association and local dentists and hygienists, who volunteered their efforts, to provide free dental services to 32 children during “Sealant Saturday” on March 2. Their work included placing 184 dental sealants, equaling about $6,000 worth of free services, during this community outreach event.
Building construction has been added to the abounding schedule of pre-college initiatives offered at Pennsylvania College of Technology, hands-on summer activities that mirror the nationally renowned opportunities afforded postsecondary students.
“Our Pre-College Programs offer living and learning experiences in which students have opportunities to explore unique academic interests in a state-of-the-art environment,” said Deborah B. Wescott, manager of conference and guest relations. “It’s a chance to work and make connections with industry leaders, meet and mingle with your peers, and establish a path that could lead to all sorts of future possibilities.”
The signup deadline is May 31 for the institution’s 12 residential programs and its one day camp.
Free dental care – including screenings, sealants, fluoride varnish treatment and education – is available to children ages 7 to 15 on Saturday, March 2, in the Pennsylvania College of Technology Dental Hygiene Clinic.
The event is co-sponsored by the Pennsylvania Dental Hygienists’ Association as part of its Sealant Saturday initiative. Sealant Saturday events are held across the state.
The Penn College event will take place from 9 a.m. to noon. The college’s Dental Hygiene Clinic is on the second floor in the west wing of the Advanced Technology & Health Sciences Center.
