Daytona State College opens new Deltona building for sonography, nursing, CNC machining

Daytona State College's new Deltona campus building will help accommodate a wider range of offerings, including the fast-growing sonography field.

College students, faculty, staff and board members joined community members at a ribbon-cutting event Thursday. The new, two-story, 30,000-square-foot building includes classrooms, medical simulation labs, offices, a bookstore and space for CNC machining equipment.

The building will house the nursing, diagnostic medical sonography and CNC machining programs.

“This state-of-the-art facility reflects our dedication to meeting the educational and workforce demands of our community and business leaders,” DSC President Tom LoBasso stated in a news release. “Graduates from our nursing, sonography, and CNC machining programs are highly sought after by local employers and are poised for fulfilling careers with significant growth potential."

The Florida Legislature provided some $19 million to Daytona State over a five-year period to make construction possible, college officials said.

Is there a need for more sonographers?

Diagnostic sonographers use equipment and soundwaves to make ultrasound images of soft tissue, helping doctors examine patients.

In announcing the sonography program last October, DSC officials cited Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing demand for diagnostic sonographers in the region will grow by more 30% in the next five years.

As of May 2023, Florida hospitals and healthcare facilities employed 5,660 diagnostic medical sonographers who had an annual mean wage of about $78,000, BLS data show .

“Diagnostic sonography is an affordable alternative to radiation imagery in diagnosing and treating patients,” said Colin Chesley, associate vice president of DSC's College of Health and Public Services. “This degree is also an option for students looking to continue their education via Daytona State’s Bachelor of Applied Science degree concentrations in management or healthcare management.”

The first diagnostic medical sonography students have already started meeting in the building, which will accommodate up to 100 students in the program.

Nursing, CNC students start Aug. 26

Some 120 nursing students at Deltona will begin Monday, Aug. 26, the start of the college's fall semester.

“This facility incorporates modern classrooms with cutting edge medical simulation labs,” DSC board Chair Randy Howard said. “These labs mimic the hospital environment and provide students with hands-on clinical training you can’t learn from textbooks. This is the closest experience to working with actual patients in actual healthcare settings."

Also, the new building offers space for up to 40 students in CNC — short for computer numerical control — machining. The college's website states CNC machinists in Florida earn an average annual salary of $42,500. Daytona State offers a two-semester CNC Production Specialist program at both Deltona and the Advanced Training College.

The building's opening makes space for a new welding program. Fathi Hall — the original building on the Deltona campus — is being renovated to accommodate 50 welding students, college officials said.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona State College opens new Deltona building for sonography, nursing, CNC machining