When Keisha Dean spoke to the hundreds of students and donors gathered at the Ozarks Technical Community College donor reception in April, she discussed what her OTC education would mean for her family. “I know there is a well-paved path of livelihood for my children and my husband because of what I have gained at…
Trisha Tindall, a 2022 Ozarks Technical Community College graduate, was awarded a fellowship from the American Respiratory Care Foundation (ARCF) for research. Tindall’s project analyzing the efficacy of flow sensors on ventilators for neonatal patients earned the ARCF’s 2022 Vyaire Fellowship for Neonatal and Pediatric Therapists. “I was shocked when I received the email that…
Ozarks Technical Community College named Dr. Aaron Light as the Dean of Health Sciences. Light will assume his new role on July 1. He replaces Dr. Sherry Taylor, who retired in March. Currently, Dr. Light is the Program Director for OTC’s Respiratory Therapy Program, a position he has held for six years, but he’s been…
Missouri’s Coordinating Board for Higher Education (CBHE) approved Ozarks Technical Community College and St. Louis Community College to offer bachelor’s degrees in respiratory therapy. This marks the first time any community college in Missouri has been approved to offer bachelor’s degrees in any subject. The approval by CBHE is the first step in a multi-tiered…
Whitney La had never heard of respiratory therapists prior to her son’s seven-month stay in the neonatal intensive care unit at Mercy Hospital in Springfield. But now that her son, Max, is a healthy and thriving toddler, she’s working toward a degree in the field. A business entrepreneur and mother of three, Whitney grew close…
Respiratory therapists like Emily Dye play a critical role in helping patients fight COVID-19. When the pandemic hit southwest Missouri, Emily was completing her first year on the job at Mercy Hospital in Springfield. Her passion for respiratory therapy – and her heart for patient care – is seeing her through the crisis. “The cycle…
Nurses and physicians figure prominently in coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic. But there’s another vital group of health care professionals who don’t always get the same recognition: respiratory therapists. OTC graduate Jeff Atkinson is a prime example, having treated nearly a dozen critical COVID-19 patients so far at Cox South Hospital in Springfield. Jeff is…
Growing up, Andrea Stone never dreamed about going to college. Her mom, who never finished seventh grade, battled a substance-use disorder throughout Andrea’s childhood. Her dad dropped out of high school. Andrea often asked herself if she would be any different. An unexpected pregnancy in her early 20s forced Andrea to embrace a new mindset…
Ozarks Technical Community College’s respiratory therapy program received the Registered Respiratory Therapist Credentialing Success Award from CoARC, the Committee of Accreditation for Respiratory Care. OTC respiratory therapy staff accepted the award during the American Association for Respiratory Care Summer Forum, held June 25 in Tucson, Ariz. Eighty-seven programs received the award this year. OTC’s respiratory therapy program is…
The future looks bright for OTC students like Jessi Thomason and Ricki Hackworth who will begin their careers as respiratory therapists this month. The duo recently earned statewide recognition at the Missouri Society for Respiratory Care conference, held April 19-21 in Osage Beach, Mo. Jessi, a Mountain View native, was one of four students selected…