Vantage bd. sees health simulator demo

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

The Vantage Career Center had the chance Thursday evening to meet one of the Health Technology program’s two new “patients”, while also receiving an update in executive session on the search to replace retiring Superintendent Staci Kaufman.

Health Technology instructors Leigh Carey and Wendy Baumle introduced the board to “HAL,” one of two lifelike health simulators that provide students with a more realistic way to practice a number of medical procedures, including taking blood pressure and pulse, drawing blood, and even whether his eyes are dilated or constricted.

Noting that HAL is “high fidelity,” Baumle said: “What that means is we can just about do anything (to him) that we can do to a real person.”

Wendy Baumle, Senior Health Technology instructor, said HAL has 11 different lung sounds, 11 different heart sounds, and 3-4 different bowel sounds, and can also be hooked up to an EKG machine or have a catheter inserted.

HAL can even talk and tell students his symptoms, which can be programmed by instructors to represent a number of illnesses or scenarios.

“He’s very complicated, there’s many, many things he can do,” said Baumle, adding that being able to teach students how to hear blood pressure readings alone is very valuable, since it’s one of the hardest things to describe to students.

Instructors also noted that they plan to do CPR training this year on the new simulators, which are not available to most career centers in the state.

Noting that the simulators are similar to what students would find if they go on to Northwest State Community College or Rhodes State College, for example, instructors added that only two other Ohio high school/career centers currently have the simulators.

During his report, Vantage Director Tony Unverferth noted that eighth grade tours will be conducted next week, calling the tours “a great recruiting tool for us” and praising staff members Mike Knott and Mary Jo Wilhelm for their work on organizing the tours.

Unverferth also noted that the entire staff of Fort Jennings Local Schools would be touring the building on November 11 and said he hoped to bring other member school staffs into Vantage in the future to provide them with information on the career center.

Unverferth said Van Wert County Sheriff Thomas Riggenbach, Paulding County Sheriff Jason Landers, and Sergeant Adam Brincefield (a Vantage graduate) of the Van Wert Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol were at Vantage recently to talk to students about driving safety.

Treasurer Laura Peters noted that conversion to the GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Procedures) accounting program is going well and should be done by the December 1 deadline. Following the conversion, state auditors will return to Vantage to complete their audit, which they hope to finish up by the end of December.

Peters also said the open enrollment period for health insurance is now underway for staff members.

Superintendent Staci Kaufman also talked about a Community Reinvestment Area tax abatement request for a new house being constructed in Continental. The board later approved the request, which provides 50 percent abatement over five years.

Adult Education Director Pete Prichard talked about Vantage having its first person receive a high school diploma through the Ohio Department of Education’s new Adult Diploma program (see related photo and information below). Prichard said the program, now in its pilot year, shows a lot of promise.

In other action, the board:

• Went into executive session to hear an update on Vantage’s superintendent search from Putnam County Educational Service Center Superintendent Dr. Jan Osborn.
• Approved a stipend of $944.50 to Larry Ray, Ohio Technical Center CNC/machining instructor, for customized training.
• Hired Jackie Brandt as a Police Academy instructor and Tarra Waltmire as a Medical Assistant instructor for the Ohio Technical Center.
• Approved a natural gas supply agreement with Dominion Retail Inc. for the purchase of natural gas.

The next meeting of the Vantage Board of Education will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, December 1, in the district conference room. That meeting will be followed by Vantage’s annual Holiday Dinner at 6:45 p.m.