By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Thanks to some collaboration and the creation of a new lab, the number of students certified as certified nursing assistants jumped at Hays High School in the fall.
John Linn, assistant HHS principal, recently gave a report to the Hays school board on the changes in the Allied Health Pathway, as well as other career and technical education programs at the school.
Twenty-two students were certified as CNAs in fall 2020. Sixteen students are working toward their certified medication aid credentials this semester.
HHS seniors Brooklyn Schaffer and Maia Lummus both received their CNA certifications through the Allied Health Program last semester.
Brooklyn hopes to one day be a surgeon, and Maia plans to study nursing and hopes to eventually earn her credentials as a nurse practitioner.
"I have always wanted to be a nurse ever since I was younger," Maia said, "so this is a good head start to get into the nursing program. Offering it at the high school was a really good way and an easy way to prepare for college as well."
Maia plans to enroll at Fort Hays State University in the fall. Brooklyn will be attending a college in Florida, where she will be majoring in biomedical science.
Brooklyn has already landed a job as a CNA working for Via Christi in Hays. She plans to work there until she has to leave for college.
Maia has not applied for a CNA position because she is participating in sports, but hopes to work in the medical field during college to help pay for her schooling.
Maia, also a caretaker for children with disabilities during the summer, said she believes having her CNA will also help her in that role.
The Allied Health Program at HHS was able to expand into a new lab after the preschool class at HHS moved to the new Early Childhood Complex across the street.
HHS partnered with NCK-Tech to bring in an instructor to teach the CNA course. HaysMed also donated beds and other supplies to the program.
"The relationships we have built have been great," Linn said. "We are proud of the direction these programs are going."
Hays High's total CTE enrollment held steady this year with 846 enrollments, some which are students taking more than one class.
Most years becuase of limits on class sizes, the school has to turn students away, Linn said.
Upgrades to CTE building
HHS has also upgraded rooms for other programs. As part of phase one of the renovations, a storage room was converted to a studio lab for the audio/video production classes.
Room 504 is the program's classroom. Room 503 is the lab, and there is door connecting the rooms. The lab includes a video room, a computer lab and a sound-proof room for recording.
Graphic design was moved to room 154.
The next phase in the renovation, which will be completed this summer, includes renovation of room 509. A door will be added between rooms 508 and 509. These rooms will be used by Chris Dinkel, who teaches industrial technology.
Room 509 will include a materials and processes room, including a laser cutter, 3-D printer, screen printing machine and additional material testing items. The front of the room will be used for sustainable energy studies and robotics.
Room 508 will be updated and used for the engineering graphics program.
Phases three, which will be completed in summer 2022, will include the renovation of the art classrooms.
Welding
HHS is in discussions with NCK-Tech about also inviting an NCK-Tech instructor to teach welding courses at the high school.
HHS' welding instructor also teaches woods courses, which means the welding lab is empty part of the day.
The welding classes are usually full, and the school has to turn students away, Linn said. Class size is limited for safety reasons.
The classes would be state-supported and tuition free. NCK-Tech has also offered to donate some equipment to the program.
"We felt the meeting went extremely well, and we are excited about the possibility of helping our students prepare for real-world applications," Linn said. "We know there is a high demand for welders in our area. This program will only help our students obtain employment when they leave high school."
Helping Hands
The Helping Hands program, lead by Michelle Thacker and John Hafliger, in coordination with the HHS counselors has taken over running the school's pantry. Students have conducted a food drive and go shopping for the pantry.
They also make sandwiches to for needy students to take home over the weekend.