Chiron Celebrates One-Year Anniversary of Expanded Education Center
50 percent more space provides enhanced learning environment
Training center's namesake left a legacy of excellence in NAT training
Chiron's Emeryville, CA Training center was named for Chiron's first Training Manager, Suzanne Ledin. Suzanne's personal commitment and achievements in medical technology, blood banking and transfusion services inspired her many colleagues throughout the world.
Suzanne joined Chiron's fledgling NAT group in 1998 as its first training manager. She helped to recruit and train the first member of the team and to design and set up the first NAT training facilities. The new training center was dedicated to Suzanne after she succumbed to cancer in 2002.
In 2004, her family established the Suzanne Ledin Memorial Foundation, committed to rewarding research accomplishments and encouraging education in blood banking and transfusion medicine.
Chiron is celebrating the one-year anniversary of the newly expanded Suzanne Ledin Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT) Education Center. "About this time last year, we were moving into the new education center wearing hard hats, because they were still putting in the ceiling," recalls Carolyn White, Chiron's training director.
The facility has grown by 50 percent, and now includes three classrooms, expanded eSAS labs, expanded PROCLEIX® TIGRIS® System training capacity and a dedicated biomechanical instrumentation training (BMIT) lab. Another new feature is a dedicated break room/lunchroom, replacing a single room that was used as classroom and lunchroom. The larger space was necessary to respond to the expanding training needs of our global business.
Chiron's NAT Training Center opened in 1999, when the company offered just one product. "The space was adequate for our needs at the time," says White, "but as we've added to our product line, we've seen a growing demand for our training courses." The center now offers comprehensive training on Chiron assays, instruments and software, including an extensive course designed to teach customers how to train their staffs.
Since it opened in 1999, the training center has hosted more than 3,000 trainees from around the globe. Trainees include customers as well as Chiron employees in sales, technical support and field service. A second training center in Paris was opened to better meet the training needs of European customers and staff.
Plans for expansion began more than two years ago, and it took months to work out the details. White and her staff played a key role. "We were very involved in the whole process, from defining the space to meet our needs, to picking out paint colors and furniture," she said.
"When we designed the training center, we tried to be as flexible as possible to accommodate future needs. Our goal is to support our expanding business," she said.
Construction began in October 2005, and the group moved into the new facility in January 2006. One of the greatest challenges was to maintain the regular schedule of training courses in alternate locations for the three months center was under construction.
"Our customers love the changes -- It's a much more customer-friendly atmosphere," White says. "The customers who were here before don't even recognize the place."
Claudia Chinchilla, quality assurance manager for the National Institute of Transplantation in Los Angeles, attended a class in June. "I felt like I was back in school," she says. "The set-up is excellent and very professional, with a training lab for hands-on experience and state-of-the art classrooms for lectures."
The new facilities can accommodate four separate training courses at the same time, allowing Chiron to maintain a low ratio of trainers to students to ensure individualized attention. "With more classrooms, we don't bump into each other anymore, "Chichilla says.
The new lunch room is especially popular with trainees. "The lunch room is really nice and spacious to accommodate all the students,'" Chinchilla says. "Besides giving us a really comfortable area for lunch and socializing, the Chiron staff always makes sure we have great food available!"
Though impressed with the new facilities, Chinchilla says what she values most is Chiron's staff. "The people at Chiron's training center always make you feel at home, like you're part of the team," she says. "They make sure you accomplish your objectives, and if you ever have any follow up questions on the training when you're back at your lab, they're just an e-mail away."
The newly expanded training center allows Chiron trainers to focus on their mission: making their trainees successful. "We provide a great training experience for our customers," White says. We treat them like the VIPs they are - they're the reason we're in business."