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Tri County Tech (TCT) announces it will receive approximately $1.6 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for its Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) program.

Dr. Tammie Strobel, TCT's Superintendent and CEO, says the ARPA monies will increase LPN capacity on campus and enhance training through hands-on simulation mannequins.

5,000 square feet of existing space at Tri County Tech will be remodeled in order to make room for additional classroom space and simulation labs where five state-of-the-art medical mannequins will be located.

The federal government designated ARPA dollars for each state to decide how they would use those funds. Dr. Strobel says they are thrilled to hear that they will receive $1,625,858. She says this worthy investment will generate over $10 million in wages from student graduates when they get into the real world and get jobs after they are trained.

Tri County Tech submitted a grant request through Oklahoma's "portal system." Dr. Strobel says their request was approximately 40-pages long. She says the State of Oklahoma sifted through 800 projects worth a combined $13 billion.

Oklahoma only had $2 billion to distribute and Tri County Tech was blessed to make the cut. Dr. Strobel made a presentation to the Joint Pandemic Relief Committee in Oklahoma City, which eventually was passed and made its way to the floor in both the House and Senate. Dr. Strobel thanks Senator Julie Daniels of Bartlesville and Representative Judd Strom for supporting Tri County Tech during this process. She says the $1.6 million grant is the largest TCT has ever received.

Expanding capacity at TCT will get more nurses out into the field. Dr. Strobel says they will be able to change the lives of students that want to get into the program but can't because TCT doesn't have enough space. She says they want to serve students by giving them more room to operate.

Tri County Tech is expecting to receive the money by September 2022. Dr. Strobel says meeting with architects would start immediately upon receiving the funds. She says construction will follow.

The goal is to accept additional students into the LPN program by January 2024. Dr. Strobel says it is essential to train nurses who are going to improve the health of others in our communities. She says they will be able to help the health of those in the community while seeing their students go on to be employed locally.