WEST BRANCH — A new satellite location for Kirtland Community College is nearing completion in West Branch. The building is expected to open as early as Sept. 8, and will house the college’s new Surgery Technology Program.

“We have leased the property from the school district,” said KCC Dr. Thomas Quinn.

According to KCC Director of Public Relations Dennis Mansfield, the lease from the West Branch-Rose City School District is for three years, with an option to buy. The building is located on M-33, just north of Ogemaw Heights High School.

“As part of the agreement, we have permission to do some remodeling, to bring it up to code for classes,” Quinn said. The building will consist of one classroom, on the south end, which will hold approximately 25 people, according to Quinn. The south side of the building will house a simulated operating room.

“There are specific lights being installed,” Quinn said. “Obviously we cannot simulate all function of an operating room, but we will have surgery equipment there and be able to do some demonstrations.”

The new location will be housing KCC’s Surgery Technology Program, which is new this year. Quinn said there was not room on campus to house the new program, so the West Branch location was chosen. The class is already underway — students returned to classes Aug. 24 — however it is currently being held on the main campus near Roscommon, until the renovations are complete. Quinn said that could come very soon.

“Right now, the earliest it will be available is Sept. 8,” Quinn said. He said the building must receive approval from the state in order for classes to be taught there.

“By the end of September we hope it will be fully operational,” he said.

Quinn said that, while the new location will be dedicated to the Surgery Technology Program, there are plans to have other offerings when the location is not in use, such as general education, or prerequisites for the college’s medical programs.

Quin said he is very happy with the location.

“The location is very nice,” he said. “The building is very comfortable. We are very appreciative of the cooperative effort with the school board.”

The Surgery Technology Program is part of Kirtland’s Health Careers courses.

According to information provided by KCC, the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth states that in 2006, there were more than 2,700 surgical technologists. By 2016, nearly 3,300 are expected to be employed in the field.

Quinn said KCC’s Surgery Technology Program is a “right-size program,” meaning the college will only allow students into the program knowing that there are jobs available.

“We’ve received a large number of applications,” Quinn said. He added that he’s unable to say just how many, because they “change by the day.” He said he does not want to discourage students from applying, however, because there are still positions available.

“We’ll certainly expand in size if we find out there are more jobs out there,” Quinn said.

He said he’s unsure exactly how many students are in the first class, but that the college had only extended to accept 12.

Quinn said that while there are currently no plans to expand this location, or to other locations, anything can happen.

“We need to see how this goes,” Quinn said. “College is ever-changing. As we get into this project, we’ll see how it goes and evaluate that. We’re willing to make changes.”