Around the College

HACC Alumni, Employees and Students Stay on Front Lines of Health Care

This story is part of our “HACC Heroes” series. We recognize the severity of the global coronavirus pandemic and its impact on our communities. During this challenging time, we want to thank and recognize some of the many HACC employees, students and others who are making a difference. The heroes of this story are alumni, employees and students who work in health care.

Many alumni, employees and health professions students from HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, work in our area hospital systems. They are nursing assistants, radiology technicians, pharmacy technicians, emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics. In the midst of a global pandemic, they are sacrificing their own health and well-being to care for patients throughout Central Pennsylvania.

To read the full story, please visit our online newsroom.

Instructor Shared Skills, Knowledge to Ease Transition to Remote Instruction

This story is part of our ongoing “HACC Heroes” series. We recognize the severity of the global coronavirus pandemic and its impact on our communities. During this challenging time, we want to thank and recognize HACC employees, students and others who are making a difference. The hero of this story is Susan Hamberger, an adjunct faculty member.

Susan Hamberger stepped up to the webcam to help her peers when HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, decided to switch to fully remote instruction in March in the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic. With remote instruction, faculty still hold classes at the scheduled class time. However, the classes are held via Zoom rather than in person.

To read the full story, please visit our online newsroom.

HACC Foundation Awards $4,815 in Emergency Assistance Funds to Massage Therapy Students

This story is part of our ongoing “HACC Heroes” series. We recognize the severity of the global coronavirus pandemic and its impact on our communities. During this challenging time, we want to thank and recognize HACC employees, students and others who are making a difference. The heroes of this story are Nina M. Kottcamp, coordinator of massage therapy, and the HACC Foundation.

When Nina Kottcamp, coordinator of the Massage Therapy Program at HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, learned that her students were struggling to pay State Board of Massage Therapy and Federation of State Massage Licensing Board registration fees, she reached out to the HACC Foundation for emergency assistance.

To read the full story, please visit our online newsroom.

HACC Student Continues to Lead During Pandemic

This story is part of our “HACC Heroes” series. We recognize the severity of the global coronavirus pandemic and its impact on our communities. During this challenging time, we want to thank and recognize some of the many HACC employees, students and others who are making a difference. The hero of this story is Megan Kopitsky, student and president of HACC’s Student Government Association.

Prior to the global coronavirus pandemic, Megan Kopitsky, HACC psychology and chemistry student, played an active role in serving the HACC community. Despite unprecedented circumstances, Kopitsky continues to serve in new and different ways.

To read the full story, please visit our online newsroom.

HACC Student Provides Support to Faculty and Peers

This story is part of our “HACC Heroes” series. We recognize the severity of the global coronavirus pandemic and its impact on our communities. During this challenging time, we want to thank and recognize some of the many HACC employees, students and others who are making a difference. The hero of this story is Rachel Fleagle, a HACC student.

In this time of change and uncertainty, students at HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, have banded together to provide support and information to their communities and HACC faculty and peers.

To read the full story, please visit our online newsroom.

HACC Continues to Operate Smoothly, Thanks to Tech Team

This story is part of our “HACC Heroes” series. We recognize the severity of the global coronavirus pandemic and its impact on our communities. During this challenging time, we want to thank and recognize some of the many HACC employees, students and others who are making a difference. The hero of this story is the HACC Office of Information Services and Technologies.

The Office of Information Services and Technologies (OIST) at HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, sprang into action in response to sudden and drastic changes in operation that the College implemented as a result of the coronavirus global pandemic.

To read the full story, please visit our online newsroom.

HACC Respiratory Student Procures Mask Donation for Local Healthcare Systems and HACC Programs

Brad Harrington, a senior respiratory therapy student at HACC’s Harrisburg Campus, works for Lowe’s in Mechanicsburg. Brad wanted to do something to help the local hospitals that need masks to care for Covid-19 patients. Brad emailed the CEO of Lowe’s, Marvin Ellison, and explained his position. Mr. Ellison contacted Brad directly and donated 2000 P95 masks to Brad to distribute at his discretion. Brad has donated 1,000 masks to Lehigh Valley Health Network as well as 250 masks to HACC’s Dental Hygiene program and Respiratory Therapist program. The donation to HACC will allow the Dental Hygiene students to provide direct patient care in our dental clinic when the Harrisburg Campus reopens. HACC thanks Brad Harrington and the Lowe’s Corporation for their donation and caring.

HACC Librarians Continue to Serve Students During Pandemic

This story is part of our ongoing “HACC Heroes” series. We recognize the severity of the global coronavirus pandemic and its impact on our communities. During this challenging time, we want to thank and recognize HACC employees, students and others who are making a difference. The heroes of this story are HACC’s faculty librarians.

The HACC Library didn’t miss a beat when HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, closed its campuses in mid-March and switched to fully remote or online instruction and services. The 21 faculty librarians easily moved on-campus services to just a mouse-click or email away. To read the full story, please visit our online newsroom.

Virtual Learning Faculty Participated in a National Community College Research Study

This past academic year, HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, Virtual Learning faculty participated in a national community college research study using Packback in discussions online. Packback is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) supported online discussion platform equipped to save instructors time while maximizing an instructor’s impact for increased student engagement as well as success.

Our innovative faculty participating in the Packback research study are: Lise-Pauline Barnett, Associate Professor of English; Rob Schanke; Associate Professor of CIS; Crystal Scheib, Instructor of Anthropology; Vicki Villone, Instructor of English; Rebecca Voss, Instructor of English; and Karen Woodring, Professor of English, for participating in the research study. As well as new adopters, Tamara Girardi, Professor of English; Cheryl Wilson, Professor of Communications; Mary Richards, Assistant Professor of English; Valerie Gray, Professor of English; Brad Basehore, Assistant Professor of Biology; and Jeanne Purtell, Associate Professor of English.

The research findings resulted in the following:

1. Improved student engagement and better discussion quality

Madison Lucy, HACC student, “Packback…a community where students are being heard. In Packback, the students are collectively working together to make the discussion as interesting as possible and asking unique questions that you won’t find the answer to in the book. It enables us to come up with answers we wouldn’t have been able to come up with just reading the textbook.”

2. Increased instructor satisfaction with the course discussion

Testimonial by Lise-Pauline Barnett, Associate Professor of English, used LMS discussion boards in the past but found her students to be more engaged and excited when asking and responding to questions on Packback. “I’m seeing a real engagement with my students in how they’re enjoying responding to each other’s questions.”

3. Improved grade and course completion outcomes

Testimonial by Vicki Villone, Instructor of English, The questions that they are asking (on Packback) are really helping their writing. They’re helping their writing process. They’re helping them to think about writing and researching and I believe that they are learning more in the process.”

The Packback Research Study Summary can be accessed here.

Thanks to Karen Woodring for presenting to the HACC Foundation the impactful faculty excellence and student success research results which resulted in support of Packback for our HACC students!

If you are looking for increased student engagement and higher levels of critical thinking in your online discussions, click here to learn more.

Primary Elections at the Lancaster Campus

On June 2, 2020, HACC hosted primary election voting on its Lancaster Campus. HACC agreed to host voting to serve the community and ensure that our local citizens had access to their right to vote. This was particularly important in light of the closure of other county voting sites, including nursing homes.

Voters visiting the campus were limited to two specific areas of the East Building. The local election board was responsible for ensuring that voters followed guidelines for social distancing and enacting other mitigation efforts.

Following the election date, HACC, in the interest of its facilities team, closed off the areas used for voting. After two weeks, the spaces used for voting will undergo a deep cleaning and disinfecting prior to any further use.

Annual HACC Flower Sale - SUCCESS!

Flowers, flowers everywhere! The annual HACC flower sale, held on May 28, was a collegewide success. The innovative efforts of the HACC grounds crew, led by Alexis Baker, Ray Wiersma, Todd Gilbert, and facilities supervisor, Jay Lohman created a well-orchestrated, “no-touch,” drive through event. The drive through event was the first of its kind here at HACC.

The smell of the flowers filled the warehouse and welcomed 99 HACC colleagues as they drove through, popped their trunks for Todd Gilbert, Steve Moore and Ray Wiersma to deliver their orders. Making the two-hour sale a Collegewide effort, with help from Randall Campbell, Constance Smith, Lorie McKee, and Kathy Brickner, who greeted and guided employees through the campus to the pickup point.

The flowers that are now planted at each of the campuses and at many HACC employees’ homes were nurtured and grown throughout the spring months in the HACC greenhouse. Rave reviews were received from many of the HACC employees, like Meredith Jenkins, “I just wanted to say thank you for the (seemingly) effortless process to order and pick up the flowers! They are beautiful and the process was wonderful!” Others said, “Let’s do this again next year!” The revenue from the sale, $3600 is used to offset the greenhouse expenses.

Gettysburg Nursing Lab is Getting New Beds!

Through the generous support of the Robert C. Hoffman Charitable Endowment Trust, the HACC Nursing Fund for Excellence and the Gettysburg Hospital Allied Health Center Capital Gift Fund eleven newly refurbished hospital beds and two stretchers will greet RN nursing students in the fall. These new beds will be more representative of beds that nursing students will be using in the hospital and long-term care settings when doing the clinical rotation component of their program. Keeping nursing lab equipment, such as beds, current and reflective of what students will encounter in the clinical setting is imperative to their success and overall patient safety. The Gettysburg Nursing Lab is expecting delivery sometime in mid-June.

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