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