Resuscitating the Indian Valley Campus

By Harold "Hal" Hassin, MD

The Inidan Valley Campus should become the site of an expanded vital Workforce Development Project. this program will help support working families will the necessary knowledge to support thier dependents in this rapidly changing economy.

I see the IVC as the College of Marin's future center for expanded Workforce Development programs. These programs have the ability to enhance working family's lives by training people for better paying, more fulfilling and secure jobs. Workforce Development is an obligation placed upon the College both by the fourth mission of the California Community Colleges System in 1996, economic development, and the global economy that transports less skilled jobs abroad while replacing them with jobs that demand ever-increasing skills from our labor force.

A responsive Workforce Development program will require close attention to trends in the local labor force through contacts with employers, business associations, unions, local, state and federal government and workers themselves. By its very nature this program will always be in a state of flux.

A "perfect storm" is heading towards Marin's senior population. We are facing a confluence of an increasing frail-senior population unable to successfully execute the tasks of daily living, inadequate number of nurses, and limited skilled nursing and assisted living facilities. I propose the creation of The College of Marin Centers for Frail Seniors. These Centers will include the Centers for Advanced Studies and Training in Assisted Living and Skilled Nursing Facilities.

The Centers will provide living/care facilities for frail seniors, training opportunities for nurses, and an incubator for new concepts in nursing care and administration. Existing College programs will provide opportunities for COM students to help the residents of these Centers, as well as to provide the students with the opportunity to develop useful skills, which will translate into jobs. I envision partnerships between the College of Marin division of nursing and SFSU nursing department, the Buck Institute, county government, skilled nursing/assisted living owner/operators and acute healthcare providers in the area.

There is a dire need for medical technologists in the Bay Area. In many instances hospitals have acquired medical technology that sits idle for lack of technologists trained to administer the tests. I will push for the development of The College of Marin Center for Medical Technologist Training. Programs offered would train: mammography, laboratory, radiology, and surgical technologists, as well as CT/MRI and ultrasound technologists. These training programs would partner with local healthcare providers to offer a comprehensive curriculum.