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Ensuring the Continuation of Excellent Health Care Into the Future
Health Career and Training CenterTo provide a local solution to a critical nationwide problem—the growing shortage of health care workers—Samaritan Health Services has collaborated with Linn-Benton Community College to offer a variety of health career opportunities. Through the new Health Career and Training Center, located at Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital, local students can enter the growing field of health care through many exciting career tracks:
Already, the center is providing classroom and clinical training to approximately 200 health occupations students annually. The first phase of the Health Career and Training Center, which opened in 2003, included an internal remodel of the hospital to allow creation of a clinical skills lab with mock patient units complete with hospital beds, sinks, and storage space for training. The remodel enabled pharmacy tech, phlebotomy, sterile processing, and nursing assistant courses to be relocated to Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital. Also in phase one was new space for the radiology technology program—only the third such program in the entire state. Students train in a clinical space with imaging equipment and an energized room that allows them to take real X-rays. Students also have access to “phantoms” to give them life-like training experiences. Phantoms range from mock forearms with hands to head-to-toe models with complete sets of bones. Graduation for the first class of 25 radiology techs took place in December 2004, with all the graduates having jobs lined up already or deciding to pursue further study. The second phase, completed in the spring of 2005, features a 12,630-square-foot instructional facility with six new classrooms. The expanded center also boasts a simulation lab (SimLab), designed to offer a variety of hands-on training opportunities. The SimLab includes computer programs that replicate real-life health care situations; low-fidelity mannequins used for practice brushing hair and teeth, and for learning proper lifting techniques; two mid-range fidelity mannequins that can “give birth;” and two high-fidelity mannequins (SimMan) that can breathe, talk, bleed, and have heart attacks. The SimMan acquisitions were funded by an Employer Workforce Training grant. New students can practice delicate procedures on the simulated models, and educators can provide students with specific scenarios they might encounter and work through. The flexible construction of the classroom space (with movable panels allowing small intimate rooms or large conference settings) meets the diverse and changing training needs—from local junior high and high school classes, to college courses and continuing education for Samaritan Health Services staff and community health care providers. Community groups and businesses also are able to use the space for training, conferences, and large or small meetings. For more information, visit the Health Career and Training Center or call 451-6305.
John C. Erkkila, MD Endowment for Health and Human PerformanceHoused within and administered by the Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation, the John C. Erkkila, MD Endowment for Health and Human Performance provides grant support annually for local programs and projects that are doing research to enhance human function and performance. The endowment, established in November 1994 with two gifts from Ralph Hull, the late owner of Hull-Oakes Lumber in Monroe, is named for Corvallis orthopedic surgeon John C. Erkkila. Each year, a five-person committee chaired by Erkkila reviews and selects proposals for funding. The proposals come from health care providers and institutions of higher learning in Benton, Linn, and Lincoln counties. Criteria include: the project’s focus on enhancement of human function and performance, its potential to benefit a broad cross-section of the community, and its involvement of clinical research, rehabilitation, and/or prevention as it relates to enhancing human function and performance. The endowment stipulates that 90 percent of earnings each year be distributed to worthy programs. For funding year 2005, for example, the Erkkila committee selected — and the GSH Foundation approved — grant proposals totaling more than $61,000. 2005 grant recipients are:
Ongoing Physician EducationGood Samaritan Regional Medical Center, the SHS hospital in Corvallis, and Samaritan Albany General Hospital are accredited for continuing medical education and offer weekly programs for area physicians. Videoconferencing is available for those who cannot travel to the presentation site. A special annual program of physician education is the Asbury Memorial Lectureship, a one-day conference on women’s health care. Named after the late Frederick R. Asbury, an obstetrics and gynecology physician, the lectureship brings to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center an average of 125 physicians from around the state.
Staff Education and TrainingSHS’s Professional Development staff dedicates time and resources to ensuring that employees are current in their clinical knowledge and hands-on experience, and that they are aware of quality improvement techniques to help them be effective managers and supervisors. Ongoing education takes place at each hospital site, as well as in conjunction with other partner locations, such as Linn-Benton Community College.
Graduate Nurse Transition ProgramTo help combat the nation’s nursing shortage and to assure that the SHS service area is well staffed with qualified nurses well into the future, Samaritan Health Services administers its own nurse transition program. Designed especially for those who have recently graduated from a registered nursing curriculum, the transition program gives new graduates the experience and confidence they need to feel competent and successful in their careers. While they are in the transition program, nurses receive guided, hands-on experience in patient care. Furthermore, they are trained to the high standards of care demanded by the SHS system, so they truly will have every opportunity to serve their communities with skill and compassion. For more information or to obtain an application for admission to the program, visit the Graduate Nurse Transition Program or call the SHS Human Resources Department, (541) 768-5072.
Residency in Pharmacy Practice ProgramThe Residency in Pharmacy Practice Program is a one-year hands-on program designed to help participants develop the skills they’ll need to solve medication-related problems. Administered through Samaritan Health Services, the program allows residents to work at various Samaritan sites to get experience in a wide variety of practice settings, including: acute care, ambulatory care, home health, management, anticoagulation service, long term care and more. The residents also gain experience in budgeting, developing drug use policy, preventing medication errors, and investigational drug therapy. Residents also may participate in monthly residency conferences. The program includes medical insurance. For more information about the program, or for an application, call (541) 768-5286, or see the Residency in Pharmacy Practice. section of this Web site. |
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