Rep. Mitchell and Mayor Smith kick off program

EVIT welcomed U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell and Mesa Mayor Scott Smith on campus today to kick off the school's new Sterile Processing and Distribution (SPD) course.

SPD is a new program, starting in August, for high school seniors and graduates under the age of 22. Students will learn all about how to properly sterilize hospital equipment to prevent the spread of infectious bacteria and diseases within a hospital. Once students have completed the 10-month program, they'll have an opportunity to complete a 140-hour internship with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Once the internship is done, the students will be qualified to apply to work in the SPD field in any VA facility across the country!

The VA has been a great partner in bringing this program to EVIT. They put more than $1 million worth of renovations and equipment into the Health Sciences Center and they'll use the facilities to hold training courses for some of their own employees. It's a great example of a partnership that benefits a current industry need and the development of skills for our future workforce!

Rep. Mitchell came out in support of the program, as did Mayor Smith.


After a few brief speeches, all of our guests took a tour of the new facilities and saw a demonstration by some of EVIT's surgical technology students in the operating room lab.