Respiratory Therapy students at Seward County Community College are in the home stretch for their studies, which continue through the summer months. But these students have more than finals on their mind: they’re also raising money for a crucial part of their program.
Through the end of April, RT students are selling raffle tickets for a wide array of prizes. Among them: Starbucks swag, gift cards from local businesses, including Dick’s, Ace Hardware, Cozy Corner, and VN Nails, a $200 Yeti Cooler, and a mini photo shoot. Each prize will be raffled separately on April 30, in a Facebook Live event. Tickets are $20 each.
Proceeds from the fundraiser will go to support student clinical expenses.
As part of their hands-on training, all RT students complete eight weeks of clinical work in either Wichita, Oklahoma City, Amarillo, or Lubbock, Texas. Program director Janae Zachary said the clinicals are designed to give students the broadest possible experience in patient car.
“All of these city hospitals guarantee that they will have access to critical patient care each day that they are there, unlike what we can offer in our rural area,” Zachary said. Among the scenarios: mechanically ventilated patients from neonatal to geriatric ages and in all areas such as neonatal, pediatric, adult- neurological, cardiac, surgical, medical, and burn ICUs.
And while the students can select their location for the clinical study, all options come with a price tag.
“Clinicals require a lot of travel and the cost of living for the eight weeks, but is a very necessary part of their education,” she said. “For a lot of our students, this is the first time they’ve lived away from home, and it has the potential to completely change how their professional lives unfold. The fundraising makes a big difference.”
To purchase tickets use the QR codes for Venmo or CashApp, or call 620-482-0403.
