New Nursing Degree Comes to Spokane Community College Colville Campus

A new licensed practical nurse (LPN) program has expanded to Spokane Community College’s (SCC) Colville campus. Applications are open for the winter cohort here until Sept. 15, said Dr. Katie Kleinhesselink, the Colville-based dean of rural education. “It’s designed to prepare students for entry in practical nursing careers through a combination of classroom experiences, lab experiences, and clinical experiences with local providers,” said Kleinhesselink.

The first cohort will consist of four students, with two cohorts planned per year, said Dr. Louis Kaplan, the Spokane-based associate dean of nursing at SCC. The college launched the program in Spokane roughly a year ago, with two cohorts of 16 students per year, before bringing it to Colville, albeit with a smaller class size. “It’s essentially the exact same program, but it’s tailored for students in Colville,” said Kaplan.

“The number of students that the Colville campus will accept was decided on after speaking to local partners in our area. That figure was determined based on what the facilities here could support for clinical rotations,” said Kaplan, adding that the program could grow in the future.

Kleinhesselink said multiple local organizations are partnering with SCC in Colville to bring clinical experience to students, including Providence Mount Carmel and St. Joseph hospitals, Northeast Alliance Behavioral Health, Rural Resources, and others. Some prerequisites need to be taken, including English composition, basic statistics, general psychology, general biology, said Kaplan.

The LPN program is four quarters long. Students will video in from the Colville campus for the “didactic” portion of the program. A new facility, with multiple hospital beds and mannequins, has also been added, said Kleinhesselink. Kaplan said he was an LPN before he moved on to his Registered Nursing (RN) degree. Providing an LPN program here is a stepping stone for community members who want to later pursue an RN degree, or it can become a permanent career, he said.

“I think it is adventurous and important to set up a pathway for people living in the Colville area, so they wouldn’t have to commute an hour and half to Spokane,” he said. Adding this program comes from the philosophy that one should grow its own workforce, said Kleinhesselink. Becoming an LPN offers a quick entry into the nursing workforce, she said, and LPNs are needed in long-term care, home health, behavioral health, and clinical care settings. “It keeps our young folks in the community, if that’s something they’re interested in, but it also provides a bridge for folks in CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) work and whatnot to level up,” she said.