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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 13, 2019)
Contributed photo From left, Dr. Raffaella Betza and nurse Greg Kling attend to mock patient Nicole Lewis, a nurse, during an emergency C-section drill at Blue Mountain Hospital in John Day. Education a top priority for hospital district By Debbie Morris For the Blue Mountain Eagle T here have been many exciting changes at Blue Mountain Hospi- tal District over the past two years. Developing an Education Department was a big one. Con- tinuing education is very import- ant to the administration and staff of Blue Mountain Hospital Dis- trict. During the past two years, the hospital has made a signif- icant investment to ensure that staff is up to date with latest evi- dence-based practices and that skills are continually updated and improved upon. As part of this investment, the district hired a clinical educa- tion director in 2017. Nurse Deb- bie Morris had been working as a clinical education program coor- dinator at Logan Regional Hospi- tal in Logan, Utah, prior to relo- cating here. In 2017, Blue Mountain Hos- pital District held its first ever Nurse Residency Program for nurses who were newly gradu- ated or had not worked at least a year in the acute care setting. The program included class- room time, clinical rotations with a mentor and simulated experi- ences. Three nurses graduated from the program. The district also invested in a learning management sys- tem to track learning and certi- fications along with assigning online learning. Several web- based educational libraries were purchased from which the staff are assigned training. The hospi- tal recently purchased an online clinical reference center that will benefit all clinical staff as the lat- est evidence-based practices and research will be available on any medical topic. Aside from the computer training, the clinical staff has practiced mock codes and deliv- ering effective CPR to a mani- kin that gives feedback on per- formance. The Blue Mountain Healthcare Foundation, along with a grant from the Oregon Office of Rural Health, purchased a mid-fidelity manikin that can breathe, has an audible heartbeat and rhythm, can be connected to a heart monitor, has the abil- ity to say a few words and is able to cough, moan and make vom- iting sounds. The nursing staff has participated in skills days to practice various procedures and become familiar with new equip- ment. We recently held an obstet- rics simulated experience with the obstetrics staff and operat- ing room crew and practiced an emergency C-section. Nursing and medical staff feel these expe- riences really help prepare for real emergencies. There have been many other learning opportunities held in our hospital such as trauma nurse cer- tification, neonatal resuscitation, advanced cardiac life support, pediatric advanced life support, trauma-informed care and a rural trauma team development course from Oregon Health & Science University. AirLink from St. Charles Medical Center created a pediatric trauma simulation in which our staff participated last year. Additional training in labor and delivery was arranged for Blue Mountain district nurses at St. Charles in Bend. Some of the nurses and physicians have also attended an advanced life support obstetrics course in Boise, Idaho. The district has joined a National Pediatric Readiness Col- laborative, working with hospi- tals across the nation, to improve the quality of pediatric care. The district recently received a grant from the Oregon Office of Rural Health and the Idaho Simulation Network to host a trauma simula- tion this spring. This experience will involve emergency med- ical services staff, possibly air ambulance, the local emergency department, ancillary staff and medical providers. Blue Mountain Hospital Dis- trict is working hard to improve the patient experience and has formed a committee to look at changes that can be made to make a patient’s hospital expe- rience be excellent. The dis- trict recently won another award for an in-depth program called “Everyone’s a Caregiver” that will educate staff on ways to increase patient satisfaction. The clinical and non-clin- ical staff members have been engaged and enthusiastic about the many educational opportuni- ties. There have been many great changes, and the district looks forward to many more in the near future. Debbie Morris, BSN, RN, is the clinical education direc- tor for Blue Mountain Hospital District. BLUEMOUNTAINEAGLE.COM / 19
