Del Tech receives $1M from Highmark for Healthcare Center

(L-R) Judi Sciple, vice president for institutional effectiveness and development, Delaware Tech; Cheryl Corn, senior director of major and planned gifts, Delaware Tech; Denee Crumrine, corporate communications manager, Highmark BCBS Delaware; Mark T. Brainard, president, Delaware Tech; Rita Landgraf, advisory council chair, Blueprints for the Community; Cornelia Johnson, vice president and campus director, Delaware Tech’s Dover campus. | PHOTO COURTESY OF DTCC

DOVER – In January, Delaware Technical Community College will open a new Healthcare Center of Excellence building, located at the Charles L. Terry Campus in Dover. The total cost of the project is $2.1 million, and Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware has agreed to enhance the project with an additional $1 million from BluePrints for the Community. This funding will support the needs of the state’s health care industry by training students for health care related jobs and careers in Delaware, in addition to granting naming rights.

“On behalf of Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware, our board of directors and the BluePrints for the Community Advisory Council, we are excited to partner with Delaware Technical Community College in this large-scale approach,” said Nick Moriello, president of Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware, in a statement. “Ensuring that Delaware has a strong talent pool in the health industry has long been a priority of ours and investment in this space is needed now more than ever. We know that Delaware Tech has the history, experience and relationships within our state to educate and empower current and future health care professionals. Together, we can grow our workforce, assist Delawareans with their career goals and help increase access to care.”

The renovation of the existing 44-year-old building, which began in August 2020 and is scheduled for completion no later than January 2022, will house state-of-the-art classrooms, labs, and collaborative spaces.

BluePrints for the Community, housed at the Delaware Community Foundation, has contributed over $21 million to the community since its inception in 2007. It was established to serve Delawareans, with emphasis on, but not limited to, recruiting and training the health care workforce, increasing access to care for the uninsured and underserved, reducing health care disparities in minority populations, addressing social determinants of health, and promoting early childhood and youth wellness.

“Highmark’s BluePrints for the Community is pleased to partner with Delaware Tech to provide high-quality education for a variety of health professions and career tracks,” said Rita Landgraf, BluePrints for the Community Advisory Council chair. “This is a continuation of Highmark’s longstanding commitment to health workforce development to recruit, train and retain health professionals in Delaware, making our investment to the industry more than $6 million since 2007.”

The 8,700-square-foot facility will be a training center for allied health short-term certification programs, including:

• Certified Central Service Technician
• Certified Clinical Medical Administrative Assistant (CCMAA)
• Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) with Phlebotomy
• EKG Technician
• Home Dialysis Technician
• Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)
• Pharmacy Technician
• Phlebotomy Technician
• Patient Care Technician
• Polysomnographer
• Emergency Medical Technician
• Community Health Worker

“These occupations represent some of the highest-demand labor market needs in Delaware, and it’s our mission to provide Delawareans with jobs and employers with the workforce they need,” said Mark Brainard, president of Delaware Tech, in a statement. “We are fortunate that Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware has provided us with such generous support to make this facility a high quality, state-of-the-art learning environment.”

As Delaware’s population ages and chronic health conditions become more prevalent, the need for workers to support health care challenges presented by aging-in-place arrangements, as well as staffing for long-term care facilities, will exacerbate the demand for skilled health care workers.