Lackawanna College Sonography Program Secures $35,000 Grant for New Equipment
Lackawanna College’s Sonography program is proud to announce it has received a $35,000 grant from the Robert Y. Moffat Family Charitable Trust. This funding will be used to purchase a new Mindray sonography machine, providing students with access to cutting-edge equipment for their training.
Supporting a Growing Program
The Sonography program at Lackawanna College has seen significant growth over the past several years. Enrollment in the Cardiac and Vascular Sonography programs has increased six-fold from 2022 to 2024, along with the Diagnostic Medical Sonography program tripling its enrollment.
“We’ve seen about an 80% increase in enrollment this semester over our previous semester and had to increase our max capacity of students in the program to 30,” said DelRosso. “This grant is also helping increase the number of machines we have and allows our increased number of students to spend time on these machines. We need to make sure they receive practical and efficient experience on the machines. In order for that to happen we need to have more machines in the room to meet the demands of all the new students.”
Enhancing Practical Training
The sonography program is currently looking to purchase a total of five new sonography machines to meet the demand of its recently expanded cohort sizes, replace older equipment, and ensure all students have the opportunity for practical experience. The grant award will help achieve this goal with the purchase of one new Mindray machine.
“Securing new equipment for the program is as essential as having current books for the classroom, without the machines for our students to learn on were missing one half of the picture,” said Mary Kay DelRosso, Assistant Director of Sonography at Lackawanna College. “We can teach them the mechanical and informational aspects of sonography but until they apply it to the scan, it’s of no value to them.”
The Sonography program is dedicated to preparing students for in-demand roles in the healthcare field. By providing access to updated equipment, the program ensures that graduates are well-equipped with the skills they need to succeed in their careers and be workforce ready graduates.
“I know I speak for everyone in the department, including the students, that we are very grateful for these kind of donations. Being able to put the students on new machines and make them well-prepared after graduation is the core of our program,” said DelRosso.
The Lackawanna College Sonography program was notified of this grant award on November 15, 2024 and the program will likely purchase the new equipment in early 2025.