HOUSTON – Dreams are made of this!
For over 30 years, The College of Healthcare Professions, or CHCP, has launched thousands of professional healthcare careers and supported graduates as they continue their advancement within the healthcare field offering flexible learning options both online and in person.
In October 2022, they officially opened a new campus in North West Houston and we sent Houston Life Correspondent, Melanie Camp out to take a look and meet some of the inspiring students who are making their dreams happen, like Mika Thibeaux.
“I definitely see myself with my own family practice. Knowing that I feel comfortable at CHCP to keep coming back for my degrees is something that I like because you don’t find a lot of schools, where you just feel comfortable.” Thibeaux said to Houston Life.
CHCP Chancellor and CEO, Eric Bing is excited for the schools future.
“The Northwest Houston campus is a culmination of architectural design and learning from our students on what type of environment creates the most success for them,” he said at the campus ribbon cutting event, where many had come to celebrate the new facility.
“We have state of the art equipment in all of our classrooms and labs, because hands on clinical is important,” said Bing. One example of this is the “synthetic” people, which are lifelike mannequins that, as Associate Degree Nursing Instructor, June Lute showed, can be programmed to display different disease symptoms and medical emergencies such as heart attacks. “We can give them disease processes to help the students learn how to handle it. This one I gave COPD, so it’s got kind of a raspy breathing going on,” said Lute of the eerily real-looking human replica laying in a bed in one of the mock hospital rooms at the new campus.
CHCP Principal Jim Cummins told Houston Life, “It’s all about a great engaging learning center for our students to be able to excel. We want them to come here, we want them to engage. We want them to collaborate with not only their peer students, but with their instructors as well. And to that end, that’s what we try to achieve.”
Beyond all the hi-tech learning that goes on, whether online or on campus, creating a strong and bonded College community is a priority at CHCP. It is a large part of what helps support students throughout their studies so they can find success and go onto graduation, no matter what challenges life throw their way.
This supportive college community is what helped Thibeaux through a challenging time.
She moved to Houston to take classes at CHCP. Initially, she lived with extended family but soon found herself homeless, “...sleeping in shelters, hotels, and parking lots. Wherever I felt comfortable at the moment is where I slept,” she told Houston Life.
At her lowest moment, Thibeaux experienced just what it means to be part of the CHCP community.
“It was the day before my state exams for medical assistant, my battery or my car died, and I kind of just broke down. So I ended up texting or calling one of the teachers and I told them, and they kind of just hopped on the situation quickly and it has just been all hands on deck with Mika since then. They never made me feel like a burden or that I was asking for too much. Whatever I needed they gave it to me. CHCP it has definitely like a huge family and they played a huge role in my life,” she said.
If you are ready for an exciting career in health care, contact the College of Health Care Professions to enroll. The number is 1-800-487-6728 or visit their website chcp.edu to get started today.