Arroyo Grande High School has seen many upgrades and renovations in recent years. Just last summer, the portables near the weight room that held AG’s athletic trainer facility and the cardio room were demolished. In their place, a new building has been constructed for Matt Quijano, the athletic trainer, and teacher of the patient care pathway. 

Katie Salcido has worked as the director of curriculum projects at AGHS for 5 years.

“3 years ago, 4 years ago- Katie Salcido reached out,” Quijano said. “She said draw up what you want and we’ll see what we can do.”

Quijano has been almost entirely in charge of deciding what will be in the new facility for both teaching and athletic training.

“[The facility was] basically my pet project for 3 years,” Quijano said.

The updated facility offers new opportunities to improve Quijano’s duties as the athletic trainer for Arroyo Grande High School. He is responsible for all training and health services at athletic events at AGHS and with the new facility he can provide more in-depth services.

“It’s going to be one of the top-end athletic training facilities in the area,” Quijano said.

In addition, the facility will have many new features that Quijano is excited about as a teacher inside the classroom, including technology from Anatomage, a company that creates digital interfaces for medical research. 

“[The building] is part classroom, part lab space,” Quijano said. “There will be a lot more room to get hands-on.” 

Quijano hopes that the new class will help students become more engaged in his subject. There is a possibility that AG could get a nursing course in addition to the other classes in the patient care pathway.

“[The community] is in constant need of healthcare providers,” Quijano said. “Our healthcare workforce is not super strong.” 

With an updated facility and new technology, classes in the patient care pathway are worth considering as an option for a class next year.