The University of Maine at Presque Isle held a dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony on Jan. 10 for its new, $200,000 Medical Laboratory Technology Training Center.

Officials with UMPI, area hospitals, donors, and students gathered to celebrate the establishment of the state-of-the-art learning space. The new MLT Training Center was created with support from a $50,000 Davis Family Foundation grant and a $15,000 Libra Foundation grant. The center helps address healthcare workforce needs while providing UMPI’s MLT students with a dedicated space that simulates a hospital setting for completing intensive clinical training.

During the Jan. 10 celebration, event participants officially dedicated the Center, showcased a donor plaque that will be permanently displayed in the space, and held a ribbon cutting ceremony.

UMPI President Ray Rice said “We are so pleased to see the establishment and dedication of this new space so we can provide the very best clinical training experiences for our MLT students and better meet Maine’s healthcare workforce needs.”

The 900-square-foot MLT Training Center in Room 115 in UMPI's Pullen Hall will serve as a combined lecture and lab space. The lab space will mirror a hospital lab and drawing station on a smaller scale, simulating a hospital lab setting during a regular 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. shift, thus allowing the MLT Program to reduce the clinical time that students spend in hospitals by six weeks.

The MLT Program of Maine is a collaboration between UMPI and the University of Maine at Augusta in cooperation with hospitals across the state that serve as clinical affiliates. MLT graduates are often hired before they finish their clinical training and the program has an average 3-year graduate placement rate of 97%.

 

For more information about the new MLT Training Center or UMPI’s MLT Program, contact Leigh Belair at (207) 768-9440 or email leigh.belair@maine.edu.

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