CCC&TI Chosen as Finalist for Prestigious Bellwether Award

The Bellwether College Consortium has announced its list of 30 community colleges nationwide selected as 2020 finalists for the highly coveted Bellwether Awards, and Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute is among 10 finalists for the Instructional Programs and Services category.

CCC&TI was selected for its innovative partnership with West Caldwell Health Council, Inc. (WCHC) to open the Hector Estepan CobraCare Clinic on the CCC&TI campus in Hudson in August 2018. The clinic offers a wide range of services, including: physicals, preventative care, immunizations, behavioral health, minor office procedures and chronic disease management. Uninsured patients may apply for a sliding discount scale, based on their income level. The clinic also waives co-pay fees for Pell Grant financial aid recipients and also provides services to college employees and their families.

“We’re extremely proud of being one of 30 community colleges nationwide in the running for this prestigious award,” CCC&TI President Dr. Mark Poarch said. “We’re really excited to be on this list of colleges who are leading the way, and glad to see this innovative partnership getting national recognition.”

The partnership began in 2014 when WCHC began bringing its Mobile Unit to campus. As the demand for the service grew, officials began discussing ways to provide more services and see more patients on campus. A classroom adjacent to the student lounge was converted into a fully functioning medical clinic with multiple exam rooms and a lab.

Since opening in August 2018, the CobraCare Clinic has had nearly 1,500 visits and served more than 600 individual patients.

“The health clinic simplifies the lives of our students and employees,” Poarch said, adding that now basic health care services are available four days a week without having to leave campus. “It’s a tremendous asset and a benefit to our campus.”

Bellwether Finalists represent leading institutions of higher education whose outstanding and innovative programs and practices in community college education were selected among competitive submissions as exemplary. The finalists will undergo a rigorous second and final round of peer review at the 2020 Community College Futures Assembly in February.

The Bellwether Awards are widely regarded as the nation’s most competitive and prestigious recognition for community colleges and the only award evaluated by experts

and practitioners in the field. In its 26 years of celebrating community colleges, the BCC is proud to identify outstanding and innovative programs or practices, which can then be shared and replicated. BCC presents awards in three categories.

The Instructional Programs and Services category of the Bellwether Awards recognizes programs and services that foster or support teaching and learning in the community college. The Planning, Governance and Finance category of the Bellwether Awards recognizes programs or activities that improve efficiency and effectiveness in the community college. The Workforce Development category of the Bellwether Awards identifies strategic alliances that promote community and economic development.

All finalists will be presented at the 2020 Community Colleges Futures Assembly in San Antonio, Texas and one winner will then be selected from each category by a panel of national experts.