Academy, St. Petersburg College Partner for New O&P School

A magnificent partnership has come together to establish a new orthotics and prosthetic school, along with an Academy Learning Center, at St. Petersburg College, St. Petersburg, Florida.

The new O&P school will offer a baccalaureate program, postgraduate certificate programs, and an associate degree program for technicians. Online and videoconferencing courses are also in the plans.

The new school--which fills a void in O&P educational opportunities in Florida and the rest of the Southeast region--is the culmination of a vision shared by the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetist (AAOP), the Florida Chapter of the AAOP, The Florida Association of Orthotists and Prosthetists (FAOP) and St. Petersburg College, especially by President Carl M. Kuttler Jr., who has worked hard and enthusiastically to help achieve this goal, sources said.

The Academy intends to help the new school by locating current educators to partner with St. Petersburg in curriculum development and to help recruit a qualified O&P professional to serve as dean of the new school. The school will follow the guidelines of the National Commission on Prosthetic & Orthotic Education (NCOPE).

Sound financing is backing the new school: the college is contributing toward creation of space both for the new O&P program and for the Academy Learning Center. The contribution includes a $1 million donation of land, a federal grant of $1 million, funding of startup costs, including hiring a dean and staff assistant to develop the program, and up to $500,000 in matching funds. Close to $4 million has been committed to the program. Another $750,000 must still be raised to fund the development of a new building to house the facilities, and a professional fundraiser has been hired to help accomplish this goal.

The Academy's vision for the Learning Center includes a physical location to increase the Academy's didactic and laboratory-based education and also for distance learning opportunities through workshops, seminars, and conferences.

The facility also can serve as a venue for the Academy's Clinical Standards of Practice (CSOP) consensus conferences, it was noted. Other related goals are expansion to international educational opportunities and the development of an O&P museum with the assistance of the museum studies department of St. Petersburg College.

The college has 75 years of experience in allied health education and currently offers 11 allied health programs to more than 1,500 students yearly. The school also has bachelors degree programs in nursing and dental hygiene.

St. Petersburg College is a leader in distance learning and boasts a multimillion-dollar infrastructure of equipment for Internet, video, and satellite conferencing.

For more information, please contact: Dr. Janice Buchanan Campaign Director / Orthotics & Prosthetics Program St. Petersburg College Foundation, Inc. Phone: (727) 341-3319 Fax: (727) 341-3123 buchananj@spcollege.edu

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Academy, St. Petersburg College Partner for New O&P School

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