Pine Innovation Center ribbon cutting ceremony set

Pine Technical College’s business incubator, Pine Innovation Center, will officially open its 7,500 square-foot facility with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 3 p.m. on Friday, April 18. The Pine Innovation Center is located at 585 Hillside Avenue Southeast in Pine City.

Following a welcome from PTC President Robert Musgrove, the ceremony will include special remarks from Minnesota District 8 Congressman Rick Nolan, Minnesota District 11 Senator Tony Lourey, Minnesota District 11B Representative Tim Faust, Jerry Fallos, representing U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar and Pine City Economic Development Authority member Frank Christopherson. Refreshments and tours will also be available after the ceremony.

The incubator will house and support hi-tech and light manufacturing entrepreneurs in the community, and, at the same time, the incubator will provide PTC students access to internships and practical experience in cutting-edge, hi-tech industry. The Pine Innovation Center holds the potential to become an effective tool to foster an environment where manufacturing and high-tech jobs can grow and develop and to create wealth within the region. The incubator will house light manufacturing and technology-based businesses working toward producing innovative products or services, and it has been designed to house two start-up companies simultaneously, as well as comfortable meeting space.

PTC and a body of experts from the Pine Area will provide consulting services, technical expertise, product evaluation, assistance with marketing and business planning, and much more to start-ups and growing businesses choosing to reside in the incubator while putting down roots. New companies will stay in the incubator for 3-4 years, while they are solidifying their businesses.  Then they will be required to move out, and the College will bring in another fledgling business and repeat the process.

According to Musgrove, it is a job creation strategy which improves the success rate of new companies.  “Around 50% of new companies don’t survive five years,” he explained.  “However, research shows that an incubation program boosts that success rate to around 84%.  And 87% of companies who are incubated remain in the community where they started.”

Pine Technical College’s Medical Assisting Program Earn Accreditation

Clearwater, FL – At its meeting on March 21, 2014, the Board of Directors of the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) granted initial accreditation to the Pine Technical College’s Associate in Medical Assisting Program. Pine Technical College is located in Pine City, Minnesota.  The CAAHEP Board acted upon the accreditation recommendation of the Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB).

Through the accreditation process, which includes a thorough review of the program, curriculum, faculty and staff, as well as a site visit of the program, the Medical Assisting program at Pine Technical College in Pine City, MN, was determined to be in substantial compliance with the nationally approved Standards and Guidelines for educational programs as established by the Medical Assisting profession. 

PTC’s Medical Assistant program prepares students to perform administrative and clinical tasks to keep the offices of physicians, podiatrists, chiropractors, and other health practitioners running smoothly. Designed with flexibility in mind, coursework includes phlebotomy and electrocardiography (EKG/ECG) training, as the duties of Medical Assistants vary from office to office, depending on the location and size of the practice and the practitioner's specialty.

CAAHEP accredits nearly 2,100 educational programs that prepare health professionals in 24 different disciplines.  Accreditation is one step in a process that is meant to protect the public and ensure a supply of qualified health care professionals.  For more information about CAAHEP and accreditation, visit www.caahep.org.

For information on the Medical Assisting program at Pine Technical College visit www.pinetech.edu.

Pine Tech Community Forum Addresses Mental Health Needs

The recent closure of Riverwood Centers underscores the lack of mental health workers and patient services throughout Minnesota, which is an ongoing concern for state officials. To address the issue, the Minnesota Legislature asked MnSCU to convene a summit and develop a state workforce plan. A community forum is slated for 1-3 p.m. on Thursday, April 24 at Pine Technical College.

Forums will be held throughout the state with the goal of developing a comprehensive plan to increase the number of qualified people working at all levels of Minnesota’s mental health system, ensuring appropriate coursework and training and creating a more culturally diverse mental health workforce.

“This is a large undertaking, and we need the community’s input and help,” said Stefanie Schroeder, Pine Technical College’s dean of workforce and economic development. “We want to gather information from providers, employers, consumers of mental health care, educators and others to assess the gaps and shortages in the mental healthcare workforce.”

Forum topics will include, but are not limited to, the wait time for individuals to see a mental health professionals, the challenges and length of time to fill mental health professional positions, whether students and graduates are meeting expectations of providers, strategies to recruit individuals to the mental health field and improvements needed to the mental health workforce and delivery system.

A team will use the results from the Pine Tech forum, as well as other forums held throughout the state, to create the comprehensive plan at a summit scheduled for May 28.

Forum organizers ask attendees to pre-register at www.healthforceminnesota.org and clicking on Pine City.