Source: The News-Enterprise
ISSUE: Hospital develops educational partnerships
OUR VIEW: Everyone benefits from creative solutions
It’s always good to see cooperative relationships, especially when they are being used to solve a problem.
HMH Chief Nursing Officer Sharon Wright and ECTC representatives met regularly to find a solution so ECTC can continue its nursing program and HMH can continue to have a steady flow of nurses.
To do so, the hospital is improving its partnership with the college. The hospital already allows ECTC student nurses to earn clinical hours on site to add credits to their degree and provides nurses for supervised site visits.
Last year about 60 hours of on-site visits were conducted. This year, the hospital will double that commitment.
The hospital also will provide nurses with master’s degrees who will lecture at the college to fill staffing voids and the hospital will compensate the nurses for their time.
HMH also added a part-time student nurse liaison – a registered nurse who works at the hospital one day each week and spends the other two supervising ECTC students on clinical rotations.
The solution is mutually beneficial – it keeps the hospital’s primary recruitment tool and the college’s nursing program intact.
The hospital also has partnered with Hardin County Schools to sponsor three elementary schools in the district for the Project Fit America program.
The national nonprofit creates and administers fitness in education programming at the elementary and middle school levels. The program includes exercises on upper body strength, cardiovascular, and abdominal training and development. The program also teaches students to build teamwork, cooperation, communication and general life skills around wellness.
With the opportunity the partnership has provided, Lincoln Trail Elementary School physical education teacher Chad Sweeney recently was named a 2015 Project Fit National All Star Teacher of the Year.
Lincoln Trail, Lakewood and Creekside elementaries received Project Fit America equipment and materials through the hospital’s sponsorship with Creekside beginning its program this fall. Kentucky currently has 33 program schools.
Because of the partnership, Sweeney said students at Lincoln Trail have had tremendous gains in cardio exercises and core strength and is working on upper-body exercises such as pull-ups. The program is only in its third year.
Investing in both programs is good business for the hospital.
The staff at HMH should be commended for its creative solutions and commitment to not only maintaining and improving a quality health care facility, but also the community.
The editorial represents a consensus of The News-Enterprise editorial board.
