Newsletter, 2015

2015 Annual Report

A MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR

2015 was another year to remember for AIMS Education. We experienced

tremendous growth in our enrollment numbers. Our new campus in Edison

opened its doors for the first time. And we became home to a local chapter of

the National Technical Honor Society.

Each year AIMS continues moving toward its goal of becoming the premier

allied health institute in New Jersey. Since being founded in 2004, we have

had the pleasure of seeing our students grow and develop into highly trained

and competent healthcare professionals. AIMS graduates can now be found

working throughout the healthcare industry in a variety of allied health pro-

fessions.

The primary reason our students seek an education is to improve their career

prospects. As an institute of higher education, it is our responsibility to pro-

vide them with the tools they require to reach their goals. By continuing to

hire experienced and qualified healthcare instructors, and forming affiliations

with major teaching hospitals, we are ensuring that our graduates are well-

prepared to enter the workforce in 2016 and beyond.

In closing, I wish to thank my fellow board members and our administration

and faculty, whose valuable contributions and dedication have allowed AIMS

to achieve the success we currently enjoy. As we look forward to 2016, it is my

hope that our current and future students will find their education at AIMS

both gratifying and rewarding.

Swati Patel, BS, RDMS (AB, BR, OB/GYN), RVT

Director of Education

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Campus Happenings ...............2

National Technical Honor Society

..................................................2

Career Services ........................3

Financial Aid Department ......4

Clinical Internship ...................4

Campus Expansion……………….5

What’s next in 2016……………...5

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“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” - Nelson Mandela

In February 2015, AIMS became a chapter of the National Technical

Honor Society. Shortly after forming the chapter one of our students

received the Jon. H. Poteat Scholarship awarded by NTHS. The tuition

scholarship is awarded to students attending a technical school.

The AIMS chapter of the National Technical Honor Society has really

taken off with great strides. Shortly after NTHS members ran a 5K for

Cancer, NTHS headquarters recognized AIMS in a November 2015 arti-

cle entitled “Join Forces to

Serve.”

The NTHS AIMS chapter also

helped sponsor its first blood

drive on campus in July 2015

which resulted in 25 regis-

tered donors giving blood.

Throughout 2015, the NTHS

organized blood drives result-

ed in a total of 145 units of blood donated.

NTHS requires all students to maintain a 3.0 GPA or higher to be a

member. This helps motivate our students to strive for academic excel-

lence at AIMS.

CAMPUS HAPPENINGS

AIMS CHAPTER OF THE NATIONAL TECHNICAL

HONOR SOCIETY

We enrolled our first batch of END

students since ABRET formally ap-

proved the program. Our future

graduates will now be eligible to take

the EEG certification exam offered by

ABRET.

The Diagnostic Medical Sonography

program instituted a new minimum

GPA requirement for the pre-

diagnostic modules. In order to move

on to the major diagnostic modules,

students must have a 3.0 GPA or

higher.

The school administration continues

to maintain an “open door policy” for

all of our students. This includes both

personal and academic related issues.

Counseling is also provided on a case-

by-case basis.

Academic and student success has

been on the rise. By maintaining a

75% minimum passing score

throughout the school, we are able to

ensure that every student is develop-

ing the required competencies needed

to successfully enter the healthcare

field.

CAMPUS EVENT

HIGHLIGHTS

Throughout the year AIMS held

numerous on-campus events for our

students including several blood

drives, a school supply drive, Go Red

for Women, NFL Day, Breast Cancer

Awareness Day, and Toys for Tots.

In September 2015, AIMS opened a

new campus in Edison, NJ. The

Edison campus will primarily offer

shorter programs. This will allow the

main campus to focus on enrolling

students in many of the larger pro-

grams.

During the month of September

AIMS also began hosting biannual

Pinning Ceremonies for recent grad-

uates. These ceremonies honor and

recognize all of our recent graduates

for their academic achievement.

In December 2015, four of our stu-

dents were awarded the Academic

Excellence Scholarship. Our next

scholarship will be awarded in

March 2016.

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CAREER SERVICES DEPARTMENT

During the past year we’ve seen an increase in students getting hired directly

from their clinical internship sites. This is a direct reflection of the education

and training AIMS students are receiving from instructors and the institution.

The Career Services Department made it a priority this year to increase the

number of resumes submitted directly to prospective employers. This increased

effort by Career Services resulted in more job opportunities for many of our

graduates.

The department holds orientation for each class prior to starting their clinical

internship rotation. During that time, students are provided guidance in every-

thing from building a proper resume to conducting an effective job search. The

importance of LinkedIn is also emphasized during the orientation; we encour-

age all of our students to build a LinkedIn profile prior to graduation.

AIMS held its Fall Career Fair on November 10, 2015. Ten participating

healthcare companies were in attendance. Our students and graduates were

able to learn about various job opportunities, speak with employers, and submit

their resumes. Some participants were even interviewed on the spot. AIMS will

be holding its next career fair in the spring of 2016.

Some Career Highlights in 2015:

Nicole Ribaudo (Diagnostic Medical Sonography) - Graduated in February 2015

-Hired at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital directly from her

internship.

Tommi Hunter (Surgical Technologist) - Graduated January 2015 – Hired at

Summit Medical Group in Berkeley Heights and started working during her

internship.

Shannon Black (Diagnostic Medical Sonography) - Graduated April 2015 – Also

hired at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital directly from her intern-

ship.

Ian Gonzales (END) - Graduated October 2015 — Hired from his internship

through Overlook Medical Center and Morristown Memorial. Also in progress

with New York Presbyterian in NYC for a position as an EEG Technician.

Brenda Challenger (Diagnostic Medical Sonography) - Graduated in October

2015 —Hired from her internship site at Trinitas Regional Medical Center.

CAMPUS EVENT

PHOTOS

NTHS 5K Run for Cancer

AIMS Wears Pink for

Breast Cancer

Fall Pinning Ceremony

Toys for Tots Dropbox

NY Blood Center Blood Mobile

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Caption describing picture or graphic

FINANCIAL AID DEPARTMENT

The clinical internship is the final step in our students’ education. This

is the stage where they obtain practical, hands-on training in a real

work environment. AIMS has numerous affiliations with some of the

best hospitals and healthcare facilities in the Tri-State area.

Some of our newest affiliations in 2015 include Overlook Medical Cen-

ter, Morristown Medical Center, and Newark Beth Israel Medical Cen-

ter.

We have also added three Pennsylvania hospitals - Abington Memorial

Hospital, St. Luke’s University Health Network, and St. Mary Medical

Center.

We also made special accommodations for a VA student by forming an

affiliation with a VA hospital in Alabama. This allowed the student, who

is in the reserves, the ability to complete her DMS internship.

Through feedback from clinical site supervisors and the evaluation of

student clinical performance, AIMS is able to ensure that it is maintain-

ing high educational standards.

We are proud of all of our graduates and look forward to seeing them

build successful careers in the healthcare field.

The Financial Aid Department highlights

include three workshops which took place

in 2015.

In October 2015, The Piscataway

Domestic Violence Prevention Team held

a VAWA (Violence against Women Act)

Workshop. Anne Adamiak along with her

team presented an in-depth presentation

on the history of domestic violence which

covered various incidents of domestic,

sexual, and dating violence.

In November 2015 and periodically

throughout the calendar year, the financial

aid department held in- service workshops

for our students. These workshops went

over student loans, repayment of loans,

and numerous other topics related to fi-

nancial aid. Our next workshop will be

held in April 2016.

The last of the three workshops that the

department put together was a Drug free

workshop which was held in December.

This workshop emphasized the im-

portance of staying drug free for personal

health reasons as well as professional

reasons for those entering the healthcare

field.

CLINICAL INTERNSHIP DEPARTMENT

4

“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”- Aristotle

AIMS opened its 2nd campus in Edison, NJ on September 17, 2015. The

Edison campus of AIMS Education is located at 2672 Woodbridge Ave-

nue. It is located next to Middlesex County College and it’s only

minutes from the New Jersey Turnpike. Public transportation is also

within walking distance of the school.

The Edison campus will provide additional classroom space for the

main campus in Piscataway. Some of the shorter programs offered by

AIMS have been moved from the main campus to Edison. Eventually

the Edison campus will begin offering its own training programs as

well. All major administrative departments and student services will

remain at the main campus. However, administrative staff will be on-

site in Edison to ensure sufficient academic oversight.

With the addition of our 2nd campus,

AIMS Education is continuing to

grow rapidly. AIMS is currently in the

process of applying for programmatic

accreditation for the Diagnostic Car-

diac Sonography program, and we

will seek to obtain or renew several

other accreditations in 2016.

We have plans to continue updating

our medical labs in an effort to keep

them modern and up-to-date. This

will ensure that we are providing ef-

fective learning environments to all of

our students.

2015 saw the highest enrollment

numbers in our school’s history. We

plan to continue that growth in 2016.

With the utmost gratitude and appre-

ciation, AIMS would like to thank its

administration, staff and faculty for

all of their hard work and dedication.

The school would not be where it is

today without its dedicated employ-

ees.

The AIMS family wants to thank you

for all of your support in 2015 and we

can’t wait to see what 2016 will bring

us. God Bless America and may you

see continuous blessings in your life.

CAMPUS EXPANSION

WHAT’S TO COME IN 2016

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