Riverside College is the brainchild of a man of vision – Dr. Pablo Obregon Torre Sr. who began his professional practice by setting up a family clinic in 1954.
As his practice grew over the years, the clinic evolved into a full scale hospital – the Riverside General Hospital which was administered with the assistance of the Carmelite nuns.
Seeing the need for competent personnel to operate the hospital, Riverside College was established with the School of Midwifery in 1958 and the School of Nursing as initial non-baccalaureate course offerings. Soon after, the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Nursing were opened.
By virtue of their professional training, competence and work ethics, graduates of Riverside College were readily employed in various parts of the country as well as in the United States and Europe.
When the rising demand for health care, the General Hospital was expanded in 1972 and first renamed the Riverside Medical Center, and later as the Dr. Pablo O. Torre Sr. Memorial Hospital.
In line with the growth and expansion of the hospital, the College added to its program associate courses in Radiologic Technology, Nutrition and Dietetics, Health Aide and Medical Secretarial in 1976.
In 1987, BS courses in Physical Therapy, Medical Technology and Psychology with specialization in Special Education were offered. Certificate courses in Home Health Care and Environmental Health soon followed.
In 1997, the College opened the School of Graduate Studies.
Responding to enrolment growth, the College undertook an infrastructure development program. A four-storey building with classrooms, an audio-visual room (AVR) and food court was inaugurated in 2004. An adjacent eight-storey facility with additional classrooms, laboratories, a new library and student lounges was completed in 2005.
In 2005, the College pioneered the offering of the one-year Certificate Program in Practical Nursing. The College also started to admit to the BSN program second-course students who are either paramedical or non-paramedical graduates.
With its modern, state-of-the-art and world-class facilities complemented by the rigid training and qualification of its mentors, the College obtained recognition from TESDA in May 2005 as an Accredited Assessment Center for Caregivers for Western Visayas, and remains to date the only school in the province that has earned this recognition.
Responding to the needs of higher education and the demands of the global healthcare sector, the College offered two new programs in 2006: the BS in radiologic Technology degree program, and the five-month certificate program in Medical Transcription.
In AY 2009-2010, the Riverside College obtained Level 1 PAASCU accreditation for a period of three (3) years.
In AY 2010-2011, two new programs were added: Biomedical Equipment Servicing NC II and Pharmacy Technology Services NC II.
The Pre-School was also opened in the same year.
The College has recently been given recognition by TESDA as the only accredited Health Care Services NC II Assessment Center in the province of Negros Occidental. |
