Arkansas Business

Ross said NWACC’s physical therapy assistant program has for the last 13 years produced a 100 percent pass rate for students seeking certification in that area. Now the center provides room to expand that program beyond the 14 students currently enrolled.

“We want to provide the community with a health care worker that is in demand, regardless of what the demand is,” Ross said. “We have the programs we do now because those were the needs in the community. If those dynamics change, we want to be positioned so that we can rapidly respond to the needs of the community.”

NWACC President Becky Paneitz, who plans to retire at the end of June, told those gathered for a Jan. 18 grand opening ceremony that an estimated 95 percent of program students remain in northwest Arkansas after graduation.

That should be good news for the future of health care in the area. With five hospitals in Benton and Washington counties, there are jobs to fill.

“We are thrilled at the many opportunities this new center will provide our current students and generations of students to come,” Paneitz said. “Ultimately, the new center will enhance our ability to educate and prepare those seeking a career in the health professions. That’s a positive development for our students and for the patients who will be served by these well-trained professionals. Ultimately, it’s good for our whole community.”