Gordon Cooper's New Buildings Provide Wide Variety Of Training Resources For First Responders, Students by David Dinsmore
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uildings that serve the needs of public safety often come with certain preconceived concepts about how they look and how they are used. Some may picture cinder block walls, drop ceilings and inadequate lighting stemming from years of use, remodels and budget cuts. This was the opposite aesthetic envisioned for Gordon Cooper Technology Center’s newest addition to the Shawnee campus, said Rusty Gilpin, certified health programs coordinator and now building manager at the new facility at Gordon Cooper. Gordon Cooper opened its new Marty Lewis Public Safety Building in July 2020 with the goal of enhancing paramedic and criminal justice students’ training and preparation while providing new ways for current first responders in Shawnee and surrounding communities to keep their skills sharp. “We were already hosting a lot of activities for police departments and fire departments (prior to construction of the new building),” Gilpin said. “And we already had a robust EMT and paramedic program. The thought was, ‘Let’s create a home for all of these programs.’” Former superintendent Marty Lewis saw the need to expand the facilities available to those
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undergoing training in the paramedic programs and classes offered at Gordon Cooper, Gilpin said. Though students in these programs had places in the campus’s main building, the nature of the job of emergency medical responders sometimes made it difficult to decide if they should share facilities with nursing focused programs or lawenforcement focused programs. Though the response to the coronavirus pandemic impacted the number of new trainees the programs could host this year, Gilpin said the new facility gives criminal justice and paramedic students dedicated space to focus on their training and enhance their ability to serve the community when they get on the job. Classrooms and conference spaces are essential offerings of the new Marty Lewis Public Safety Building, but it is the more hands-on focused areas that add new dimensions to what the programs can now offer. Those training in paramedic have had access to ambulances for training in that type of environment, but the new building has a space to house this ambulance training indoors so that weather is less of a factor while students are first learning to apply new skills. It also allows them to replicate different scenarios they may encounter in the field using backdrops and tangible materials, such as the bedroom of a home or outside
at a sporting event. This program also benefits from the lab areas dedicated to giving trainees the chance to practice real-world techniques that could save lives in the field, Gilpin said. The school also has begun incorporating virtual and augmented reality simulations to make up for some of the elements and challenges plastic bodies simply cannot provide. For those taking part in the criminal justice programs, the new public safety building offers amenities like a dedicated fitness space for activities such as exercise and conditioning as well as real world application of self-defense and other essential skills. The new building arose from needs not only within the schools programming but also from agencies in the community charged with keeping residents safe and healthy. Administrators at Gordon Cooper worked closely with local and area fire departments and other first response agencies when planning and constructing its new public safety building. “Our volunteer firefighters, emergency services personnel and the many law enforcement agencies in our area contribute greatly to the safety and livability of our communities,” Gordon Cooper superintendent Bob Perry said. “The training that happens on this campus and at this
