Ventura Faculty has unveiled a formidable new 2,000-square-foot facility that guarantees to revolutionize veterinary technician schooling within the area. The Lokahi Veterinary Know-how Lab supplies college students with a practical medical atmosphere for hands-on coaching, eliminating the necessity to journey exterior Ventura County to achieve important abilities.
The ability, designed to reflect a real-life animal hospital, options specialised tools together with X-ray machines, a surgical suite, and moist tables for practices like dentistry and anesthesia monitoring. College students are already practising vital strategies comparable to bandaging and different medical procedures on this state-of-the-art atmosphere.
“I’ve all the time needed to get my license,” mentioned Heather Hartman, a Ventura Faculty scholar. “However having the barrier of getting to go to a special metropolis or driving actually far, after which nonetheless with the ability to work. With this program, I’ve the chance to work and have the ability to pay hire and nonetheless get my schoolwork performed. I feel that is the one one in Ventura County.”
The coaching facility was constructed with donations to the Ventura-based Lokahi Basis, a non-profit group devoted to strengthening the native veterinary workforce. The revolutionary design helps a hybrid instructing method, with lecture area upstairs and sensible labs downstairs.
“How we designed this facility was to have the ability to accommodate a hybrid technique of instructing,” defined Dr. Janis Shinkawa, CEO of the Lokahi Basis. “The upstairs is a lecture area, and downstairs is the moist labs. We needed to have a surgical procedure unit as properly in order that we will do surgical strategies. The moist tables are designed for dentistry, anesthesia monitoring, you identify it. Our partnership with Ventura Faculty has been phenomenal and really impactful to our space to assist put extra veterinary assistants and our registered veterinary technicians out into the group.”
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Ventura Faculty’s Veterinary Know-how Associates diploma holds a prestigious place as one in all solely 223 packages nationwide accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Affiliation. The brand new facility enhances an already sturdy program and addresses a big workforce want within the veterinary subject.
“You possibly can see the standard of this explicit lab,” mentioned Anne Paul King, govt director of the Ventura Faculty Basis. “It’s state-of-the-art. It’s what these college students are going to see within the business. We have now X-ray machines, we have now a surgical suite. It is a veterinary hospital. The first use of this facility is for Ventura Faculty’s Veterinary Tech program. It’s a beautiful method to fulfill the excessive want for registered veterinary techs on this group. Our college students want good high quality jobs and the business wants them.”
This system is especially precious for college students dealing with financial challenges. King highlighted that many college students can not afford to journey exterior the county for schooling, with 55% experiencing meals insecurity and 29% coping with housing insecurity. Moreover, 40% of scholars are the primary of their households to attend faculty.
“It is a recreation changer,” King emphasised, addressing how this system creates accessible pathways to steady careers in veterinary medication.
For animal lovers all through Ventura County, this system implies that the following era of expert veterinary technicians will quickly be obtainable to supply compassionate care to beloved pets, outfitted with coaching on cutting-edge tools and strategies.
References:
Supply: https://www.kclu.org/2025-04-22/the-high-tech-head-start-for-future-veterinary-technicians-in-ventura-county
