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С��è��ý-Rock Creek adds Occupational Therapy Assistant degree

Photos and story by Meryl Lipman

A new partnership between С��è��ý and Linn-Benton Community College will bring an Occupational Therapy Assistant Program to the Portland area this fall.

This statewide program is administered by Linn-Benton and offered at seven other Oregon community colleges. It features online classes, video classes and traditional classes at С��è��ý’s Rock Creek Campus, 17705 N.W. Springville Road. Clinical hours will be completed at local practices. These assistants help occupational therapists rehabilitate ill, injured or disabled patients in relearning everyday activities to regain independence.

“This is a brand new model for С��è��ý,” said Karen Sanders, Division Dean of Social Sciences at Rock Creek. “Linn-Benton has been great and flexible.”

Graduates of the program, which is 96 credit hours, will earn an associate’s degree from Linn-Benton. The first С��è��ý students will join 18 to 20 others from around Oregon with a rigorous academic load of 16 credits per term and will begin doing clinical work as early as spring 2011. Recruitment will heavily target students who have met program prerequisites, including several core classes, along with immunizations, drug tests and criminal background checks. Prospective students should possess the aptitude and technology to support online learning.

The occupational therapy assistant degree provides an entry-level knowledge and employability at wages between $20 and $28 per hour, in an industry slated to grow by 22 percent in the next decade, according to С��è��ý’s discussions with hospitals, therapy clinics and long-term care facilities. Clinical sites and curriculum will be developed and monitored by a grant-funded LBCC employee.

For С��è��ý, the partnership came out of a commitment made to voters during the 2008 bond campaign to bring allied health programming to Washington County at the Rock Creek Campus.

“We are in varying stages of development for a variety of health-related program offerings that meet local and regional employment needs, provide a livable wage, make good use of taxpayer resources and complement existing С��è��ý health programs,” said Birgitte Ryslinge, dean of instruction at Rock Creek.