Delgado Hosts Jefferson Chamber Education and Workforce Development Meeting

March 12, 2025

Delgado Community College was pleased to welcome the Jefferson Chamber Education and Workforce Development Committee to the Ochsner Center for Nursing and Allied Health on Delgado’s beautiful City Park Campus on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. 

The program began with a welcome and presentation by Chancellor Larissa Littleton-Steib, who noted that more than half of Delgado students come from Jefferson Parish. With an average student age of 28, many are balancing their education with real-life responsibilities. Chancellor Steib emphasized, “What we have to do at Delgado Community College is make certain that we wrap our arms around them—make certain that we provide them with flexible schedules and meet them where they are.” 

Jennifer Fernandez, Dean of the Delgado Charity School of Nursing, delivered a presentation on nursing and allied health education, highlighting that Delgado has produced 6,500 nursing graduates and 7,000 allied health graduates since 1992. Remarkably, 48% of Louisiana’s nursing workforce is made up of Delgado alumni. The College offers flexible scheduling to help nursing students balance their studies with other responsibilities. Upon graduation and passing the licensure exam, students earn an associate degree and, after passing their licensure exam, can begin working as registered nurses, earning the same salary as those with a bachelor’s degree. Nurses in the New Orleans area earn a living wage from the start, and Delgado’s affordable tuition makes this career path an especially worthwhile investment. 

Dean Fernandez and Rene Randall, Director of the Respiratory Care Technology Program, led committee members on a tour of the simulated hospital. This facility features state-of-the-art simulators that respond to students' questions and mimic real-world medical conditions. Local healthcare providers frequently visit the facility to conduct training exercises, which often include both nursing and allied health students. These collaborative simulations give students valuable experience in scenarios that closely resemble actual hospital settings.