CNA program addresses need for advanced training

Posted By Andrew Neff On November 29, 2012 (4:05 pm) In Bangor,

Education, Health, News
BANGOR, Maine Its a joke that Jeff Boal, Mount Desert Island
Hospitals director of education, rarely gets tired of telling.
I keep saying its good that so many people involved in this program
work in [an] ICU because it needed to be resuscitated more than once,
said Boal.
Hes referring to the groundbreaking Experienced Certified Nursing
Assistant program at Eastern Maine Community College. Boal says its
the first of its kind not only in Maine, but in the country.
There are similar programs, but this is the only one Im aware of that
incorporates an actual yearlong curriculum, said Genevieve Gipson, a
registered nurse and director of the Ohio-based National Network of
Career Nursing Assistants. This is definitely a positive development.
Im anxious to learn more about it.
The program resulted from a Federal Health Care Sector Grant and the
realization that no educational program existed that specifically
addressed educating and training certified nursing assistants in the eight
additional tasks the Maine State Board of Nursing assigned CNAs two
years ago, such as drawing blood, checking blood sugar and helping
with IVs.
Theyre able to do tests and competencies that other CNAs cannot
do, said Barbara Hannon, MDI Hospitals chief nurse. Theyre able
to assist the nurses at each hospital in a better way.
Boal said the idea was to raise the skill levels of CNAs to better address
gaps and areas previously assigned to registered nurses and specialists.
That approach has been of keen interest and value to Maines rural
hospitals.
Several rural health care facilities took part in the program. In all, the
following hospitals contributed staff, facilities and CNA students: MDI
Hospital, Blue Hill Memorial, Down East Community, Maine Coast
Memorial, Mayo Regional and C.A. Dean.
Last August, we were dead in the water because we were unable to
find anyone to take us on as an accredited program, Boal said.
Then Boal made a presentation to EMCC President Larry Barrett and
Mike Ballesteros, the schools dean of development and business
services. It took 10 minutes for them to say yes.
And there was more resistance to this project than I would publicly
admit. It was difficult, Boal said.
Several medical professionals questioned the need for experienced
CNAs and wondered how the extra training would make a difference.
Initially there was a lot of resistance because it was change, it was
different, Boal explained. We have a scope of practice in nursing
where there are tasks you do and dont do, and this changes some of
that.
Deborah Thomas, director of Eastern Maine Medical Centers
Education and Training Center, was one of those cynics.
She wasnt sure what the point of this was, as a lot of people werent,
Boal said. But at one point later on, she said if she had a choice for
hiring someone between a CNA and a CNA who did this ECNA
program, shed take the ECNA every time.
Each of the 14 members of the inaugural ECNA class received 104
hours of training and class time over a 12-month period. Of the 14,
only one didnt finish and thats only because her doctor ordered her to
get bed rest during her pregnancy.
Theres a lot of dedication here, said Hannon. Some of these
graduates traveled the entire state to do this. Theyve gone from
Greenville to Blue Hill to MDI, and some of them travel four to five
hours a day to go to an eight-hour class.
Cheryl Kolodziej, a CNA since 1976 who now works at MDI Hospital,
is also a graduate of the first ECNA class.
For me, it was more of a boost to get back into school and broaden my
knowledge in the field, said Koldziej. But getting to work with the
other staff members at other hospitals was great in terms of experience
and seeing what they do.
Hannon said the program offers rewards for participants, patients and
the profession in general.
This changes their role in the hospital, it changes their salary
remuneration, and now the program is being extended to other hospitals
in the state and outside, she said.
St. Marys Hospital in Lewiston already has adopted the model for this
program and partnered with Central Maine Community College to
create a similar curriculum for elderly care.
This program is an unequivocal success and offers a model of how
valuable partnerships can be in the pooling of limited resources to
achieve a common goal, said Boal.
Article taken from Bangor Daily News - http://bangordailynews.com
URL to article:
http://bangordailynews.com/2012/11/29/health/groundbreaking-cna-
program-addresses-need-for-advanced-training/