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The primary source of news and information about California State University, Dominguez Hills, its students, faculty, and staff.

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Daily Breeze: Cal State Dominguez Hills Receives $700k in Funding

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Barragán (center) with CSUDH faculty, students, and administrators.
Barragán (center) with CSUDH faculty, students, and administrators.

Source: Daily Breeze

The Cal State Dominguez Hills nursing and occupational therapy training facilities will receive some serious upgrades thanks to a chunk of federal funding Rep. Nanette Diaz-Barragán helped secure.

The Democratic congresswoman, whose district includes Dominguez Hills, visited the university’s campus, near Carson, on Wednesday, May 4, to present the $700,000 in federal money that will help improve the training laboratory at the College of Health, Human Services, and Nursing.

Diaz-Barragán requested the funds through the recently passed congressional spending package, according to a CSUDH press release.

“This is about you,” Diaz-Barragán said to students during her campus visit. “With upgraded clinical laboratory equipment, students will have access to the modern tools and equipment needed to obtain the skills and training needed to successfully enter the health care workforce.”

The College of Health, Human Services, and Nursing will soon be home to the first and only publicly funded Clinical Doctorate in Occupational Therapy Program in Southern California, officials said.

Dominguez Hills will use the funding to buy new equipment, supplies and teaching tools, including hospital beds, examination tables, a classroom camera, assessment materials and more.

“This investment will contribute to enhanced educational experience, more local hires at hospitals and community centers,” Diaz-Barragán said, “and better public health outcomes in medically underserved communities here in California’s 44th District and throughout the Greater Los Angeles metro area.”

Under guidelines from the House Appropriations Committee — which selects projects to receive funding via the spending bill — each congressional representative can request funding for up to 10 projects in their districts per fiscal year. The process is generally highly competitive as allocations are restricted to a limited number of federal funding streams.

State and local governments, as well as specific nonprofits, are the only groups eligible to receive funding through this program, the press release said.

Originally, CSUDH’s program had been allocated $691,680 — but in a relatively unprecedented move, the House Appropriations Committee rounded that number up to $700,000.

It’s “something that rarely happens,” Diaz-Barragán said.

The money will help the university continue educating health care providers who will serve the Greater Los Angeles area, said CSUDH President Thomas Parham.

“These laboratory upgrades will enhance the instructional and research capability of our faculty, the educational experience and success of students, and contribute to improving the delivery of health care and therapeutic services throughout the region,” Parham said in the release, “thus reducing health disparities and fostering long-term health outcomes for generations to come.”

Nursing, OT Skills Labs Receive Federal Appropriations for Upgrades

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Students with Rep. Barragan
Occupational Therapy students with Rep. Barragán.

On May 4, Congresswoman Nanette Barragán (D-44th) presented a check for $700,000 to California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) students, faculty, and staff for much-needed upgrades to the College of Health, Human Services, and Nursing facilities.

The special community project funding, which came from the House Appropriations Committee, was requested by Barragán. Originally set for $691,680, the amount was rounded up by the committee to $700,000—something that rarely happens, Barragán noted.

Dean of College of Health, Human Services, and Nursing Mi-Sook Kim, Rep. Barragán, and President Parham.
Dean of College of Health, Human Services, and Nursing Mi-Sook Kim, Rep. Barragán, and President Parham.

“This is about you,” Barragán said to the gathered students from the university’s Occupational Therapy program. “With upgraded clinical laboratory equipment, the students at the CSUDH College of Health, Human Services, and Nursing will have access to the modern tools and equipment needed to obtain the skills and training needed to successfully enter the health care workforce.

“This investment will contribute to enhanced educational experience, more local hires at hospitals and community centers, and better public health outcomes in medically underserved communities here in California’s 44th District and throughout the Great Los Angeles metro area where these students will pursue health careers.”

The funding will go toward purchasing new equipment, supplies, teaching tools and simulation capabilities, including hospital beds, examination tables, classroom cameras, assessment materials, and more.

“CSUDH has a stellar record of achievement in educating and graduating nurses, occupational therapists, and other allied medical professionals who serve the healthcare needs of Los Angeles County’s diverse population,” said CSUDH President Thomas A. Parham. “These laboratory upgrades will enhance the instructional and research capability of our faculty, the educational experience and success of students, and contribute to improving the delivery of healthcare and therapeutic services throughout the region, thus reducing health disparities and fostering long-term health outcomes for generations to come.”

Dean of the College of Health, Human Services, and Nursing Mi-Sook Kim thanked Barragán for her support, adding that the College “humbly accept[s] this gift with a promise that we will return this investment by sending well-trained, competent, health care workers out for the cities and communities in the 44th congressional district and beyond.”

View all of the event photos here.

The CSUDH College of Health, Human Services, and Nursing nursing and occupational therapy skills laboratories provide a training ground for the development of technical skills that prepares nursing and occupational therapy (OT) students to deliver culturally competent care in a wide variety of clinical settings. The only OT program at a public university in Southern California, the college’s OT program is well recognized for its quality and has been approved to develop the first OT doctoral program at a CSU campus. Recent OT master’s degree graduates enjoy a 100 percent pass rate on national OT certification exams. The CSUDH nursing undergraduate program is a pioneer in online nursing education and offers working nurses across the state an opportunity to earn their bachelor’s degree while working. The program’s master’s degree program educates clinical nurse specialists, nurse practitioners, nurse educations, and nurse administrators.

Under guidelines issued by the Appropriations Committee, each representative may request funding for up to 10 projects in their community for fiscal year 2022— although only a handful may actually be funded. Projects are restricted to a limited number of federal funding streams, and only state and local governments and eligible non-profit entities are permitted to receive funding.