New opportunities to become certified in phlebotomy — the skill of drawing blood for medical purposes — could be coming to Naperville.
The city’s Planning and Zoning Commission this past week unanimously endorsed granting a conditional use for a phlebotomy school at a location off Route 59 on the city’s northwest side.
Proposed by Phlebotomy Training Specialists, the school would open in a 1,184-square-foot space at 1601 Bond St. in a location zoned as an industrial district. It would be the company’s fourth location in Illinois, with others already operating in Chicago, Schaumburg and Palos Heights.
Founded in 1993, Phlebotomy Training Specialists today has more than 100 locations in 36 states across the country.
The conditional use is needed so the vocational school can operate in an industrial district, according to city documents.
A change to the municipal code also is needed so vocational and trade schools that operate on a for-profit basis and don’t have a public assembly function can operate in industrial zones. The amended ordinanance won commission approval late last month. Phlebotomy Training Specialists cannot open in the Bond Street location without it.
Both the amendment and the conditional use are expected to go to the Naperville City Council for a final vote Sept. 17, according to Adam Beaver, a community planner for Naperville’s Transportation, Engineering and Development department.
Should the council not to approve the amendment, the conditional use would not be possible, Beaver said.
The proposed phlebotomy school would offer 48-hour courses on a monthly basis. Morning, evening and Saturday class options would be available. The class size for the location will be up to 12 students, according to Ericha Dick, Phlebotomy Training Specialists’ national program director.
The program will focus on training students “in the essential skills of blood collection, specimen handling and laboratory safety, preparing them for certification and employment in clinical and hospital settings,” Dick said in an email Friday.
Phlebotomy can be by people working in plasma donation centers, clinics, blood banks, dialysis, sedation dentistry, hospitals, laboratories and physician offices.
“It’s one of the best steps when entering the field of health care,” Dick said.
To be eligible for Phlebotomy Training Specialists’ program, students must be at least 18 and have their high school diploma or an equivalent.
The program cost is $1,225 at the three existing Illinois schools, according to its website. That includes a deposit, class tuition, books, supplies, equipment and a fee to take a national exam at the end of the course.
In addition to seeking approvals from Naperville, the company also is working to gain approval for its new location from the Illinois Board of Higher Education, Dick said. The state board approval involves ensuring that the school’s curriculum meets state educational standards, that its instructors are properly credentialed and that its facilities are suitable for instruction, she said.
If the school wins state and city approval, it could open this fall.
Expanding to Naperville will satisfy a growing local demand for phlebotomy training opportunities that the school has experienced elsewhere, Dick said.
“Our other locations have proven time and again to consistently fill up monthly,” she said. “The demand increased so we decided to expand once again.”