This Fall, Providence will add a new concentration in Health Science to its liberal arts degree to prepare students for careers and callings in the healthcare field. The Health Science Concentration provides a foundation for those students interested in careers in health science and fulfilling pre-requisites for nursing, healthcare education, healthcare management, pre-med and physical therapy.

“We are grateful to the Marilyn De Groot Charitable Trust for their generous donation of $1.1 million to establish this new concentration in health science at the college that will inspire and prepare a generation of faith-guided healthcare professionals,” said Providence President Dr. Jim Belcher. “From the beginning, the liberal arts has always included the humanities and the sciences, and both are necessary to fulfill our mission for students to be thoroughly educated in the liberal arts; and fully engaged in their church, their community, and the world for the glory of God and for service to humanity. With this new concentration, we are excited to be a college that is committed to both the humanities and sciences or what has classically been called the liberal arts.”

Marilyn De Groot passed away in 2014 after a 43-year career as a registered nurse in pulmonology at various hospitals including Bellwood Hospital, San Francisco General Hospital, and a 12-year stretch at Los Angeles Veterans Hospital. She was a strong medical advocate and instrumental in guiding family and friends to quality care and treatment. She graduated with her registered nursing certificate from Fullerton College in 1961.

The healthcare and social assistance sector is expected to become the largest employing sector between 2014 and 2024, with an estimated 3.8 million jobs added. Healthcare support occupations and healthcare practitioners and technical occupations are projected to be the two fastest growing occupational groups, representing 1 out of 4 new jobs over the next decade.

Read more about the benefits, careers, and specifics of the Health Science program www.providencecc.edu/health-science.