Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 10, 2015)
PAGE 8 • HERMISTON HERALD/EAST OREGONIAN SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 2015 HERMISTON Good Shepherd education expansion will improve overall care Project slated for completion this month BY MAEGAN MURRAY HERMISTON HERALD Starting this spring, Good Shepherd Medical Center education depart- ment will have a few more tools at its disposal that will enhance the level of train- ing for medical profession- als and care for patients. Last year, Good Shep- herd announced that it would be expanding its education department by 2,000 square feet at a cost of approximately $500,000. Construction began last summer, and it will be com- pleted in the next couple of weeks. The expansion is provid- ing the department with not RQO\DGGLWLRQDORI¿FHVSDFH and storage, it will also fea- ture a classroom and simu- lation room, where health- care professionals will be trained in a controlled en- vironment using high-tech medical mannequins. “To me, having the sim- ulation lab and all the pos- sibilities that that brings raises the level of training and expertise to an entire- ly new level,” Juli Grego- ry, director of education at Good Shepherd Medical Center, said. “For a rural community, and for a com- munity hospital to have that level available for the re- gion, is incredible to me. It is a dream come true.” Gregory said the simu- lation room will look like a regular exam room found at the hospital. Rather than diagnose and treat regular patients, nurses, healthcare students and possibly doc- tors will use the simulation mannequins as the patients MAEGAN MURRAY PHOTOS Employees from Pro-Cut Concrete Cutting cut the sidewalk for the newly expanded Good Shepherd Medical Center education department this week. The Good Shepherd Medical Center Education Department expansion is expected to be complete in the next few weeks. Included in the expansion is a simulation room, where healthcare students and professionals will complete training sessions using high-tech simulation mannequins. to practice for a variety of scenarios they might en- counter in a regular hospi- tal setting. Gregory said the hospital plans to have one adult and one child high- tech simulation mannequin available this spring. Gregory said the hospital currently has two medical mannequins, but their ca- pabilities are limited. One, named Ken-E Breathe, is no more advanced than a typical CPR dummy. The other, named CURT, short for Cardiac Utility Resus- citation Training, can be administered IVs and mim- ics certain body functions, such as pupil dilation. The new simulation manne- quins will be far more ad- vanced, however. Gregory said the new medical mannequins will be able to, among other things, mimic having sei- zures, retain pretend bodily ÀXLGVDQGKDYHDVLPXODWHG pulse and other body func- tions that can be adjusted by the training adviser us- ing a computer in a sepa- rate, but nearby room. The simulation room will also be equipped with cameras, and the training sessions, where the “patients” will be tested and treated for a range of medical ailments, will be recorded and re- viewed later so the trainees can be given feedback on their performance. “When you use simulation man- nequins with training, you are able to put people in real-life situations without putting somebody at risk,” she said. “They are able to go through a scenario that they will probably have to deal with at some point during their career. They are able to learn from that.” Gregory said it will take some time to teach staff how to use the mannequins and the equipment in the facility, but, once they are, the training-scenario pos- sibilities are endless. She said the education depart- ment already conducts any- where from 1,500 to 2,000 classes and events per year. About 600 to 700 of those, VKHVDLGDUHVSHFL¿FDOO\IRU healthcare professionals. With the extra classroom space from the expansion, department staff will be able offer more educational opportunities and courses. “We will be able to use this setup here, this simula- tion lab, to train newly hired nurses, new graduate nurs- es,” she said. “Potentially, we could use it for newly hired respiratory therapy (technicians). There is just so many potential uses there.” Gregory said the expan- VLRQDQGPRUHVSHFL¿FDOO\ the opportunities that the simulation lab will provide, will enhance the level of care patients receive. “The opportunity to ex- pand what (students) have learned while still in school and to provide the oppor- tunity to experience those scenarios in a safe environ- ment, in addition to what it brings for our own staff, it raises the level,” she said. “I am just so excited about this and what it means for health services.” She said the facility will EHQH¿WPRUHWKDQMXVWKRV- pital staff. It is also intend- ed to be available to other medical professionals in the DUHDDVZHOODVE\¿UHDQG police departments or oth- er agencies that have staff who may be required to perform medical care. , Fighting home energy waste — that's what heroes do. Air leaks and inadequate insulation waste a lot of energy used to heat and cool your home. Umatilla Electric Cooperative can recommend a contractor to help you weatherize your home, keeping you more comfortable year round and help you save money on your energy bills. With the right upgrades you could also be eligible for incentives from UEC. Take control of energy waste and make your home A Good Place To Be. For more information about our weatherization program, visit the Umatilla Electric website at www.umatillaelectric.com or call (541) 564-4378.
