Pat on the back
at Community College

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

Community College of Philadelphia president Stephen M. Curtis proudly notes that 82 percent of his school’s graduates are working in the city.
Those students are an asset to Philadelphia, he said, contributing their smarts to the city’s goal of building an educated work force and their payroll taxes to fund services.
"We’re not part of the brain-drain here," Curtis said.
Last week, CCP celebrated its educational contributions to the area business community by launching Pathways, a quarterly magazine, during a breakfast meeting at the school’s Center for Business and Industry.
The guest speakers were the subjects of the inaugural cover story — H. Ray Welch, president and chief executive officer of Mercy Health System, and Michael A. Rashid, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Keystone Mercy Health Plan.
The 26-page spring issue, printed in color, is devoted to the subject of Community College of Philadelphia’s influence in local health care and other industries. It also includes stories highlighting student, faculty and alumni achievements.
According to CCP officials, their graduates consistently have had higher pass rates in health certification exams than the national average, particularly in the fields of dental hygiene, diagnostic medical imaging, medical office assistants and respiratory care technology.
Almost 90 percent of the college’s nursing students passed the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing licensing exam last year on the first try.
In Philadelphia, a large percentage of CCP graduates fill such jobs as nurse and radiology and pharmacy technician.
"The list just goes on and on and on," Rashid said.
In the cover article, Welch and Rashid talk about the challenge of providing quality, affordable health care to a growing baby boomer generation that is living longer. The number of senior citizens, they agree, will lead to an increase in assisted-living facilities, nursing homes and health-care services.
Welch said his company is committed to preserving jobs. While noting the declining number of local obstetric units — Frankford Hospital’s Torresdale Campus closed its maternity ward last year and Jeanes Hospital will shut its unit next month — the administrator said his company worked with Mercy Suburban Hospital in East Norriton to save its program.
Welch and Rashid are looking forward to Pathways helping to bridge the gap between the classroom and the workplace, especially at a time when 25 percent of the state budget is spent on Medicaid. A government-funded health-care program for low-income individuals, Medicaid covers more people in the United States than Medicare.
The executives said they respect the curriculum at CCP, adding that the college has their attention because of its commitment to making Pathways work.
"It could not come out at a better time," Rashid said of the magazine launch. "We’re all in this together."
Daniel P. McElhatton, a former city councilman who serves as chairman of CCP’s board of trustees, said that Pathways allows the college to tell the business community about the outstanding training the students receive. At the same time, he thinks businesses should be glad to be working closely with a college that can produce job-ready graduates.
"It’s in our mutual best interest," he said of the partnership.
CCP’s motto is The Path to Possibilities. Assisting the college in an era of declining city funding is the Community College of Philadelphia Foundation, which has been its fund-raising arm since 1985.
Enrollment is growing, with plans for an additional building at the college’s Northeast Regional Center at 12901 Townsend Road.
The college’s overall expansion and future will be geared toward preparing students for jobs for the 21st century.
"Community College of Philadelphia is a pipeline," said A.E. Piscopo, president of the foundation board.
Only about 20 percent of Philadelphians have college degrees. That figure is lower than for most big cities in the United States.
CCP believes it is doing its part, having educated about 550,000 individuals in the college’s 41-year history.
Those students include a mix of people who use their associate’s degree to obtain a job or transfer to a four-year program. Others take classes to update their skills to secure a job promotion, or simply for the joy of learning.
According to Timothy Sullivan, the dean of CCP’s Division of Business and Technology, there are 1,000 credit courses that take place at work sites, with half of that total related to health care.
In future issues of Pathways, Community College of Philadelphia plans to make the case to citizens that it is the place to go for a quality education, and to business leaders that CCP graduates are the right people to hire.
"We have a tremendous impact on Philadelphia," Curtis said. ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com