Cerritos College News Release

NORWALK, Calif. – May 1, 2008 – The Cerritos College Nursing department will be featured in an “American Health Journal” TV episode which highlights California’s nursing shortage crisis. The show will air on KOCE-TV, Channel 50 on Wednesday, May 7 at 7:30 p.m. and again on Friday, May 9 at 1:30 p.m. It will also air on KVCR-TV, Channel 24, San Bernardino and the Inland Empire on Tuesday, May 13 at 7 p.m.

The interviews of students, faculty, alumni and policymakers will be featured along with Cerritos College’s top-of-the-line nursing facilities and equipment.

“We are facing a severe nursing shortage in California,” says Cerritos College Nursing Department Chair Dr. Charlene Fobi, who was interviewed in the show. “In order to increase the retention rates of nursing students, the faculty at Cerritos College have identified and implemented measures to support student academic attainment and promote student success.”

Along with Dr. Fobi, among those who were interviewed include Cerritos College Nursing Instructor Kelli Brooks; Debbie Malumed, M.D., Member of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges; Downey Regional Medical Center Vice President of Nursing and Chief Nursing Officer Heather Conwell and Senator Jack Scott.

“Our collaboration with American Health Journal is about having the right content for a great television show,” said Mark Wallace, director of public and governmental relations at Cerritos College. “With the Skills Lab, our nursing faculty and students, and with the guests we were able to bring to the show, we were able to effectively show the community college role in addressing the nursing shortage in California.”

The multi-award winning “American Health Journal,” hosted by Roger Cooper, is shown on KOCE-TV, public television for Orange and Los Angeles Counties, and on KVCR-TV, public television serving the Inland Empire. The program also airs on the Healthy Living cable channel and is syndicated on public television stations in over 30 media markets across the country. “American Health Journal” is a weekly program covering the leading issues in health care and prevention. This episode of American Health Journal was made possible in part by a generous grant from the Cerritos College Foundation.

The Cerritos College Associate Degree Nursing Program began in the 1964/1965 academic school year with the admission of 17 students. Currently, the program admits 60 new students each semester with the progression of approximately 175 students thus totaling 240-250 students in the program at one time. Since its inception, the nursing program has graduated approximately 3,500 students. The new state-of-the-art skills lab facility of approximately 22,000 square feet is large enough to accommodate all students in the program. This interdisciplinary facility prepares students to successfully transition from the academic environment to the workforce environment. Visit the Cerritos College Nursing Program website at http://cms.cerritos.edu/registered-nurse.

Cerritos College serves as a comprehensive community college for southeastern Los Angeles County. Communities within the college’s district include Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, La Mirada, Norwalk, and portions of Bell Gardens, Lakewood, Long Beach, Santa Fe Springs and South Gate. Cerritos College offers degrees and certificates in more than 200 areas of study in nine divisions. Annually, more than 1,200 students successfully complete their course of studies, and enrollment currently nears 20,000 students. Visit Cerritos College online at www.cerritos.edu.

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Cerritos College

Releases 2008