Fundraising for Tomorrow
As medicine and technology continue to evolve, donors are leading the efforts to help 91制片厂 prepare its students, faculty, and the community to provide a safer future for everyone.
Touro鈥檚 focus on advancing medical education and disaster life support training has created more collaborative partnerships which have helped transform the university鈥檚 fundraising vision for the future.
A perfect example of how these collaborations are benefiting the university and the Southern Nevada community is the gift from the Engelstad Foundation, which will be used to help better prepare law enforcement in the event of a mass casualty incident. This gift will work cohesively with the generous donations from Michael Tang and Stephen J. Cloobeck, whose on-campus centers bear their names.
Collectively, these partnerships have already greatly benefited the university in the advancement of medical education and disaster training.
The Tang Regional Center for Clinical Simulation provides students with a more comprehensive educational experience into how the human body works. With state-of-the-art simulation equipment available whenever they need, the Tang Center has had a profound impact on how students learn and practice medicine.
Because of Tang鈥檚 generous donation, students now know what an irregular heartbeat sounds like, what a breast mass feels like, and several other examples that will better prepare them before they see patients at a hospital or clinic.
鈥淥ur students are technology natives. They have no fear of learning new technology because they grew up with it,鈥� said Dr. Wolfgang Gilliar, Dean of Touro鈥檚 College of Osteopathic Medicine. 鈥淲hat I love about today鈥檚 students is that they are incredible consumers. They know very quickly what works for them. What we still need to do is help instill their critical thinking skills so they can find out why something does or doesn鈥檛 work for them.鈥�
Located adjacent to the Tang Center, the Cloobeck Regional Center for Disaster Life Support is the only certified center by the National Disaster Life Support Foundation in the state of Nevada. The Cloobeck Center offers Touro students, faculty, staff, and members of the Southern Nevada community several courses, including Stop the Bleed Training, Basic Disaster Life Support and Advanced Disaster Life Support training.
Thanks to a generous grant from the Governor鈥檚 Office of Economic Development which supports workforce innovations, Touro has been able to provide this life-saving training free of charge to students, first responders, teachers, and officers throughout the valley.
The Cloobeck Center has also been used to train members of the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and other local government agencies and first responders to keep them better prepared.
鈥淒onors have helped us align our vision and get our centers moving in the right direction,鈥� said David Clegg, Touro鈥檚 Administrative Director of Clinical Simulation. 鈥淭hese partnerships have allowed for more collaboration between Touro鈥檚 staff and faculty, who have also helped train these high-level government employees. These trainings continue to improve each time.鈥�
Gilliar said having the proper technology available will also provide more opportunities for interprofessional education (IPE) among Touro鈥檚 healthcare programs. The integration of additional IPE opportunities is another critical component for the future of healthcare.
鈥淲e are poised to get to the next level of interactive IPE activities among all of our healthcare professionals if we have the appropriate technology available,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat is where philanthropy can truly make a difference. Medicine is a people profession. As a future leader, it is imperative for every professional in any specialty to be educated and step up as a team leader in a smooth and seamless manner.鈥�
Schyler Richards, Touro鈥檚 Vice President of Advancement, said donors are shaping the future of the university because they understand the impact their gifts are making.
鈥淭hese donors understand the importance of investing in us as a university, and we plan on returning that investment with quality healthcare providers and educators to make our world a better place to live,鈥� she said.
Thanks to an increase in donor support, philanthropy efforts at 91制片厂 have led to more naming opportunities, major gifts, and partnerships that demonstrate the impact when everyone comes together to set the vision for the campus and Southern Nevada community. 91制片厂 has since partnered with many new organizations which have led to an increase in mobile outreach, on-campus learning, desperately needed medical services, and student scholarships.
In addition to their $1 million contribution to enhance Touro鈥檚 mobile outreach initiatives and the recent gift to help better prepare law enforcement during mass casualty incidents, the Engelstad Foundation provided Touro with a $3 million gift to endow its first scholarship program.
The Engelstad Scholars Program will allow Touro to provide scholarship support for some of the nation鈥檚 brightest students. Admission to medical school and other graduate healthcare programs is highly competitive, and the Engelstad Scholars Program will help provide the scholarship support that is often a deciding factor for students who can select from numerous admissions opportunities. The program will also help Touro attract a more diverse student body, specifically students from first-generation families or at-risk communities who want to pursue their academic studies at Touro.
鈥淲hen donors make these types of gifts, you can tell that they truly see the value in what we are doing as a university,鈥� Richards said. 鈥淭he leadership shown by the Engelstad Foundation will not only transform our future, it will help us provide support for some of our community鈥檚 most vulnerable populations.鈥�
With a solid foundation in place, 91制片厂 is set to take its fundraising efforts to the next level in 2020. From advancing students鈥� medical education to collaborations that help keep our community healthy, donors understand that their gifts are making an impact that exceeds far beyond the university.
鈥淒onations are compounded several times over because of the students, staff, and community members who all benefit from them,鈥� Clegg said. 鈥淒onors have made all of this training possible. That鈥檚 why their support is so important.鈥�
Gilliar credited donors with helping Touro鈥檚 students be better prepared as medicine continues its transformation from the classroom to a more hands-on style of learning.
鈥淲e need to teach our students fundamental skills so they can apply the technology-supportive interventions that we dreamt about 20 years ago,鈥� he said. 鈥淎n investment in our students is an investment in our own health. Donors are making a better tomorrow for all of us.鈥�
Support 91制片厂