CMC adds pharmacy technician program to catalog

This story appeared in the Nov. 20 edition of the Glenwood Springs Post Independent

By Ike Fredregill, Post Independent reporter

A new program at Colorado Mountain College could help fill pharmacy technician openings around the state, a CMC spokesperson said.

“Most pharmacies in all of our CMC serving areas are hiring at least two techs at this point,” said Amy Connerton, the CMC Pharmacy Technician Program director and an associate professor, explaining the college serves nine counties throughout the state.

As a result of Colorado legislation signed into law in 2019, pharmacy technicians working within the state are required to receive certification through the State Board of Pharmacy.

More at https://www.postindependent.com/news/cmc-adds-pharmacy-technician-program-to-catalog/

Dutch Henry Hill at CMC Leadville

Colorado Mountain College grooms early season snow at Dutch Henry Hill. A rope tow lift will be added to the skiing hill next year. Photo by Patrick Bilow

CMC Leadville: Rope tow to be added to Dutch Henry Hill

This story by Patrick Bilow appeared in the Nov. 17, 2021 edition of the Leadville Herald Democrat. 

Cloud City Mountain Sports, which was born out of the Cloud City Ski Club in 2020, is breathing new life into Dutch Henry Hill after securing $30,000 last month to construct a rope tow ski lift. In addition to operating as a training facility, Cloud City Mountain Sports (CCMS) President Ben Cairns said the decades-old ski hill could also serve as a site for community recreation.

“I knew after the first hour of living in Leadville that Dutch Henry Hill needed a lift,” said Cairns, who also serves as vice president and campus dean for Colorado Mountain College’s (CMC) Leadville and Salida campuses, and as a coach for the Lake County High School Alpine Ski team. “North-facing slopes at 10,000 feet with snowmaking and grooming through CMC right next door: I mean, this place is special and deserves more use.”

Cairns added that alpine skiers with CCMS and the high school, who both train at Dutch Henry Hill, will endure their final season of hiking the slope this winter. The rope tow, which is manufactured by Towpro in New Hampshire, is slated for purchase in the spring and installation by next winter. But the equipment is meant for novice skiers as well.

https://www.leadvilleherald.com/free_content/article_67b26468-47c0-11ec-baaf-9bb3d153831f.html

 

Alpine Bank President Bob Young with past Alpine Bank First-Generation Scholarship recipients.

This story appeared in the Glenwood Springs Post Independent on September 15, 2021. 

Alpine Bank CMC scholarship celebrates 25th anniversary

By Rich Allen/Glenwood Springs Post Independent

In the past 25 years, the Alpine Bank First-Generation Scholarship has helped more than 250 students attend college who may not otherwise have had a chance.

The scholarship, started in 1996, celebrated its 25th year of providing local students two years of runway in tuition, books and other fees at Colorado Mountain College and other schools, equating to around $2,500 a year. In the spring, the 2021 class of scholarship recipients graduated from high school and began a path toward college. The scholarship has grown and evolved to meet a changing need, transitioning from a Latino-focused aide to a first-generation-focused one. Read the full story.

The Colorado Mountain College Board of Trustees met at the college’s campus in Aspen Tuesday, where they approved an architect contract as well as project management services for a new student housing project.

Anderson Mason Dale (AMD) was selected to lead the design process for the $40 million housing initiative that will bring apartment-style student housing to four CMC campuses. Campuses in Breckenridge, Vail Valley at Edwards, Spring Valley at Glenwood Springs and Steamboat Springs are each slated for 35 units (with approximately 50-60 beds) of on-campus housing with the potential to add units in the future.

CMC is working with AMD to schedule site visits for the first week of September and a kickoff design charette by the middle of September. Dynamic Program Management, based in Eagle, was selected to assist CMC with project management on the student housing project as the owner’s representative.

The next step will be to release an RFP for the general contractor selection process. This is anticipated to be advertised in early September with selection being complete by the end of October.

As provided by state law, the Board of Trustees canceled CMC’s participation in the November election for three open board of trustee seats because each of the vacancies received only one petition by the filing deadline.

Former Town of Snowmass Village Mayor Markey Butler filed sufficient petition signatures to qualify her as a candidate for outgoing trustee Charles Cunniffe’s position in Pitkin County (Cunniffe is term-limited). Butler faced no opposition and will be sworn in to her new role at the December board meeting.

West Garfield County trustee Peg Portscheller and Eagle County trustee Chris Romer also filed petitions to run for an additional term and will be sworn in as well since no other candidates sought election for their seats.

The trustees also unanimously approved an update to the college’s investment policy and board appointments for the condominium association of Morgridge Commons.

Finally, the trustees adopted a resolution honoring the late Doris Dewton, who passed away in July. Dewton was a former CMC trustee, Foundation Board of Directors member and passionate advocate for CMC’s students. She served the college in official volunteer capacity for 18 years.

Dewton worked tirelessly to advocate for students who had difficulty affording to go to college. “People have dreams who don’t always have means,” she once said, adding that scholarships and academic support make a big difference in how those dreams turn out.

nursing simulation lab

Assistant Professor Courtney Smazinski works with a training manikin at the CMC Steamboat Spring nursing simulation lab. Photo by Benjamin Suddendorf

This story appeared in the Steamboat Pilot & Today on August 30, 2021

By Dylan Anderson, Steamboat Pilot & Today

Vernon Watkins wasn’t doing so well, evident by the hospital bed he was in. He has a line of stitches in his abdomen from surgery, and when nurse Mikaelyn Sullivan checks them, he can’t help but cry out in pain.

While Sullivan, a nursing professor, has his recovery on track, Watkins won’t be leaving the recreated hospital suite at Colorado Mountain College Steamboat Springs Campus anytime soon. Rather than a patient, Watkins is the teaching tool at the heart of three planned nursing simulation labs, the first of which opened last week in Steamboat.

The state-of-the-art lab on the Steamboat campus is built out like to look like several rooms in a hospital nursing suite, with high-tech patients that have vital signs, can tell students where their pain is and can be programmed for various medical scenarios.

“It allows the opportunities in our rural community,” professor Courtney Smazikski said. “We sometimes have more limited experiences for students here just because we don’t see as much.”

Nursing students are allowed to complete as much as half of their clinical hours in a simulation lab like the one now open in Steamboat, which can be crucial in mountain towns as clinical hours in smaller hospitals can be limited. Read the full story

CMC Rifle ceramics students create bowls, Chocolate Moose donates ice cream to benefit Grand River Meals on Wheels

RIFLE – In March 2020, the 6th annual Empty Bowls event was one of the first social gatherings in the area to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, a year and a half later, organizers feel it is safe to host Empty Bowls again but with a summer twist. Instead of soup, attendees will take part in an end-of-the-summer outdoor ice cream social.

Organizers are busy getting ready for the Empty Bowls event, which runs from 12:30-2 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 1. This celebration will mark the 45th anniversary of Grand River Meals on Wheels.

“Grand River Health has always supported the community by providing Meals on Wheels to homebound seniors from Parachute to New Castle,” said Kaaren Peck, director of Grand River Meals on Wheels. “The service is more than just providing food. It helps with connecting the homebound with the larger community.”

In exchange for a $20 donation, the outdoor fundraiser provides guests with a bowl handcrafted by CMC Rifle ceramics students and ice cream with toppings donated by the Chocolate Moose in Glenwood Springs.

A single donation provides almost a week’s worth of meals for one recipient. During the past 15 years, Grand River Meals on Wheels has provided almost a quarter of a million meals to over 2,000 people in western Garfield County. In 2020 alone, the organization provided and delivered over 21,000 meals.

Empty Bowls is coordinated by staff and volunteers from Grand River Health, as well as faculty and students from CMC’s Rifle campus. The idea for the collaboration started in 2015 with Michelle McCurdy, an adjunct ceramics instructor at the college. The first year was a huge success, with nearly 200 bowls sold within 45 minutes. This year the ceramics students are crafting close to 400 bowls.

Although the fundraiser is a locally focused effort, it’s internationally based. The Empty Bowls Project conducts events around the world to raise money and bring awareness around hunger issues. The program also provides funds for food distribution efforts such as Grand River Meals on Wheels.

 

Meals on Wheels Empty Bowls Ice Cream Social

A fundraising partnership with Colorado Mountain College Rifle’s ceramics students and Chocolate Moose benefitting Grand River Meals on Wheels

When: 12:30-2 p.m. on Sept. 1

Where: Grand River Health’s Grand River Café Courtyard, 501 Airport Road, Rifle. Please park in the southwest parking lot.

How much: $20 includes a student-crafted ceramic bowl and ice cream with toppings

Why: To raise money for Grand River Meals on Wheels and to bring public awareness about those among us living with hunger insecurity

Contact: Kaaren Peck, director of Grand River Meals on Wheels, 970-625-6423 or kpeck@grhd.org