Oakton and Endeavor Health Celebrate Opening of Health Careers Education Center in Evanston

Evanston, Ill. (Aug. 5, 2025) – Oakton College and Endeavor Health^SM celebrated the grand opening of Oakton’s new Health Careers Education Center (HCEC) today, Aug. 5. Leaders from Oakton and Endeavor Health joined industry professionals, students, elected officials and community members for a dedication ceremony, ribbon-cutting and tours of the Center’s state-of-the-art labs and classrooms. The Center’s opening marks a significant milestone in expanding access to high-quality healthcare education and meeting critical workforce needs in the region.

“Our partnership with Endeavor Health demonstrates what is possible when an educational institution and an industry leader come together with a shared mission – to serve our community,” said Oakton College President Joianne Smith, Ph.D. “This new instructional space extends Oakton’s ability to deliver quality training that is helping us address critical workforce needs throughout the region.”

Located in Endeavor Health Evanston Hospital’s COS Building, 2500 Ridge Ave., the Center represents Oakton’s first physical presence in Evanston, the largest community within its district. The facility was made possible in part by an $800,000 Congressional Directed Spending grant secured by U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth and U.S. Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin. The funding helped purchase state-of-the-art training equipment.

“From surgical technicians to radiographers and nurses, the Oakton College Health Careers Education Center will play a key role in strengthening our health care system,” said Durbin. “Programs that grow the next generation of health care workers will create long-lasting careers and ensure quality medical care for Illinoisans. I salute the students and teachers who have taken up this calling, and I am committed to working in Washington, alongside my colleague, Senator Duckworth, to bring more federal resources to these desperately needed health care projects.”

The Health Careers Education Center features advanced classrooms and laboratories for three new healthcare-focused Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree programs in Cardiac Sonography, Radiography, and Surgical Technology. The first cohort of students began their studies this summer.

The Center’s location expands access to high-quality education to students from the eastern portion of Oakton’s district. That includes Beheshta Haidari, who immigrated to the U.S. from Afghanistan, where she graduated from medical school. Haidari, who lives in Skokie, first enrolled in English as a Second Language (ESL) courses at Oakton, building her language skills as she pursues her career goals in the U.S. She’s currently enrolled in Oakton’s Cardiac Sonography program and hopes to practice medicine as a doctor.

“The days I come to the program are more exciting to me than other days,” said Haidari. “This is a program in which you are practicing a lot. We have a lot of equipment and instructors who are helpful and available to us. It is a nice environment to learn in.”

Employment in healthcare occupations is projected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations from 2022 to 2032, with about 1.9 million openings each year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Median salaries for surgical technologists, cardiac sonographers, and radiographers range from $67,000 to $100,000 annually.

"Oakton's expertise in high-quality, affordable education, combined with Endeavor Health's clinical excellence, has resulted in a truly unique and innovative program,” said Gus Granchalek, president of Endeavor Health Skokie Hospital and Endeavor Health’s executive leader of the partnership with Oakton. “This partnership is a model for how educational institutions and healthcare providers can collaborate to address enduring workforce challenges and improve patient care."

Oakton and Endeavor Health shared the cost of renovating the facility. The partnership will provide students with clinical rotation and job placement opportunities within Endeavor Health’s system, with Endeavor team members serving as clinical instructors. Both organizations’ charitable foundations are also working to secure private funding to support student scholarships, additional equipment needs, and program enhancements.

For more information about Oakton’s new health career programs, prerequisites, and admissions process – or to explore other associate degree offerings in health information technology, medical laboratory technology, nursing, and physical therapist assistant – please visit oakton.edu.