Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 11, 1995 TAG: 9504110093
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Virginia Western has submitted a proposal to run the college for the two or three years it will take current students to graduate.
"We could help move those students through the next graduation date and then at some point take a look at the viability and feasibility of the program becoming part of Virginia Western," said Charles Downs, the community college's president.
Virginia Western would use its current staff to manage the instructional programs at the College of Health Sciences. So it would not cost the community college, but it would minimize overhead for the other institution, Downs said.
The community college could take over as early as next month, but it has not heard any reaction to its proposal, Downs said.
Virginia Western and the College of Health Sciences are just in the "talks" stage, and other institutions also have been invited to submit proposals, he said.
Virginia Western's curriculum already includes an associate degree in nursing, and it has an agreement with Radford University that gives community college graduates access to a four-year bachelor of science degree. In addition to its on-campus program, Radford operates a satellite program at Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
Roanoke Memorial and Community Hospital are owned by Carilion Health System.
The College of Health Sciences, which has about 500 students, offers an associate in science degree in six health care disciplines, and certificates of completion in three areas. It recently announced it would add a physician assistant program in a year.
Community Hospital subsidizes the college with about $600,000 annually.
The college has been moving toward independence from Community Hospital since 1992, when it celebrated its 10th anniversary. The timetable to become self-supporting has speeded up because of the emergence of managed health care in the area, said its president, Harry Nickens.
Roanoke-area hospitals are trying to get their costs as low as possible so they can compete for various insured groups' businesses, he said.
"A significant number" of institutions have been contacted as part of the College of Health Science's effort to determine what path it wants to take, Nickens said.
A special task force was appointed to develop a plan for the College of Health Sciences, Carilion Chairman Tom Robertson said.
"We're looking at a lot of alternatives, including keeping it as it is," he said.
Robertson declined to provide further details, but said he expected a decision soon.
by CNB