Health Science and Culinary classes moving to Iowa Western

Dr. Dan Kinney talking about the shortage in nurses and that the new opportunities at Iowa Western will help more students become nurses.

Photo by Katelyn Gwennap

Story by Katelyn Gwennap.

Ed Note: Story updated from print.

Dr. Vickie Murillo, the Council Bluffs Community School District Superintendent, and the Iowa Western Community College President Dr. Dan Kinney, announced the expansion of a partnership between the schools.

“You will be amazed by the facilities here,” said Murillo. She also said that there will be more than 200 students from the CBCSD entering into the Health Science and the Culinary Arts programs. the Health Science and the Culinary Arts programs.

Dr. Kinney said that there is a big shortage of nurses going on right now, and that nurses that he knows we're going to retire decided not to because the hospitals need them.

So by opening up the classes at IWCC to students in the Council Bluffs School District, they are helping the next generation of nurses get an early jump on the college criteria.

Dr. Kinney also said that the building has made a huge difference in the education of the nurses that they are bringing up, and that people can tell the difference between IWCC graduates and other colleges. They say that the graduates from IWCC have more confidence in what they are doing than others.

“They [the programs] are really informative and they are very good about telling you what to do and not to do,” said Culinary Arts student Connor Roberts. He also said that he would recommend the classes to other people because, “it’s a great program and it’s fun. You can learn a lot of new skills.”

“Iowa Western is excited to begin this important partnership with Council Bluffs School District,” Stated Dr. Kinney. “We look forward to helping impact the lives of area students by providing quality educational experiences in our state-of-the-art classrooms.”

Tere also includes the new program called Early College Academy. It’s where a selected group of sophomores from TJHS and ALHS get to finish their two years at Iowa Western full time, while still enrolled in high school. They can graduate with a high school diploma and with an Associates Degree at the same time. Dr. Murillo said that they had 11 graduate last year, and this next year they will have 51 students in the program at Iowa Western.

The Iowa Western and Council Bluffs School Districts partnership will help the next generation of workers onto their futures a little bit faster and with a whole lot more confidence.