Housing and Development Newsletter “I feel 100 percent confident stepping into a hospital setting after my studies at SBCC,” she said. Her next step after taking her licensing exam is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in nursing this summer at CSU Channel Islands. She ultimately wants to work in acute care and would love to do so at Cottage Hospital. Daniela Gallardo is a student in the SBCC Vocational Nursing program and will graduate in December. After taking her exam, she plans to continue with the Associate Degree in Nursing program at SBCC to become a registered nurse. Her goal is to specialize in nephrology, as she was impressed with the nurses who helped care for her mother.
Housing and Development Newsletter Beebe said that expanding into nursing is a natural extension for the college, because it will offer an additional path for students who get degrees in kinesiology. Cottage Health s offer to partner with Westmont made the timing perfect. “Cottage has so much access to data,” Beebe said. “To have them in our community and have the opportunity to partner with them to benefit the students and our community is just a huge win. It is a combination of factors and all of them really mattered to us.” Westmont plans to use a cohort-based model with 24 students per cohort, and two cohorts per year. The program is in the final stages of approval from the state, Beebe said.