Catawba Valley Medical Center partners with Catawba Valley Community College to bring management support to ValleySim Hospital

Agreement seeks to improve educational training programs for students and professionals

HICKORY, NC – Sept. 10, 2013 – Catawba Valley Medical Center has formed an operating partnership with Catawba Valley Community College to bring management expertise to ValleySim Hospital, a simulated healthcare facility for education and training.

“We see this as a chance to take ValleySim Hospital to the next level and extend our partnership with Catawba Valley Community College,” said Eddie Beard, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, Chief Operations Officer & Chief Nursing Officer, Catawba Valley Medical Center. “The hope is that the combined effort between these two institutions will lead to a new educational model for current and future caregivers. Ultimately, this facility will be the tool we use to raise the level of expertise for healthcare professionals in our area and beyond.”

Under the three-year agreement, which went into effect in July, the Medical Center provides management services, including the core staff necessary for operation and promotion of the facility. With this new partnership, both organizations seek to provide a better-prepared healthcare workforce, in the immediate community, as well as across the state.

“This partnership was the next logical step for the advancement of this unique, comprehensive simulated healthcare facility created by Catawba Valley Community College,” said Dr. Garrett D. Hinshaw, President, Catawba Valley Community College. “We firmly believe that the possibilities are endless, and this innovative partnership brings those possibilities to reality for the healthcare industry.”

Catawba Valley Medical Center has hired Ty Wright as director of ValleySim Hospital. Wright brings a background in corporate training and community college management to the position. April Williams, MSN, RN-BC, has transferred from the Medical Center campus to assume the role of simulation specialist. A simulation technician position will be filled in the coming months.

“I have found that hospitals traditionally hire fresh graduates who still require a large amount of training on the job,” said Wright. “Through this partnership, it is my hope that ValleySim will properly prepare allied health students to start work the day they are hired.”

The operating agreement will open the ValleySim Hospital doors to use by other colleges, hospitals, physician practices, public health departments, county and public schools and many others. For a fee, these organizations can use the facility as a training ground to teach new technologies, reinforce current competencies, or practice techniques needed in rare medical scenarios, all in a non-threatening, no-risk environment.

“This partnership gives us a lot of ways to improve our staff’s capabilities through training,” said Adina Andreu, RN, M.S., CNM, NEA-BC, Vice President – Administration, Catawba Valley Medical Center. “Not only are there critical care training situations that can be used, but endless opportunities are at our disposal, from safety culture programs to reenactments of actual hospital situations. Rest assured, ValleySim Hospital will now have a direct impact on improving the level of care patients receive at Catawba Valley Medical Center and at other participating health organizations.”

ValleySim Hospital is designed to provide students, the community and the region with a realistic healthcare setting for education and research. The largest simulated hospital of its kind on the East Coast, it is equipped with a wide variety of low- and high-fidelity programmable manikins, along with video and computer equipment, and a da Vinci® Surgical System, which was donated by Catawba Valley Medical Center. ValleySim Hospital simulates realistic healthcare experiences designed to meet the clinical training needs of healthcare students and practicing professionals.

For more information on conducting training at the ValleySim Hospital, please contact Ty Wright at (828) 327-7000 ext. 4072.

About Catawba Valley Community College

Catawba Valley Community College is an accredited comprehensive North Carolina community college serving Catawba and Alexander counties. Through more than 10 different allied health programs, the College prepares local healthcare professionals, including nursing, respiratory therapy, dental hygiene, surgical technology, radiography, emergency medical science and many others. For complete information about CVCC’s School of Health and Public Services, visit http://www.cvcc.edu/Health_Services. Take a virtual tour of the ValleySim Hospital at http://www.cvcc.edu/SimHospitalTour.

About Catawba Valley Medical Center

Catawba Valley Medical Center (CVMC) in Hickory, N.C., is the region’s largest not-for-profit, public healthcare system and serves the community without direct funding from taxes. CVMC provides and promotes physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being of the public in addition to serving as a center for health education, wellness services, preventive medicine and acute care. CVMC has received three Magnet designations from the American Nurses Credentialing Center and has been recognized with three Women’s Choice Awards, being named one of America’s Best 100 Hospitals for Patient Experience in 2012 and 2013, a 2013 Best Hospital for Patient Experience in Obstetrics andone of America’s Best Hospitals in Orthopedics in 2013 by WomenCertified®. CVMC received the 2013 QUEST® Award for High-Value Healthcare from Premier, recognizing a reduction in harm, mortality, readmissions and costs, while improving the patient experience and delivering evidence-based care. For more information, please visit http://www.catawbavalleymedical.org.

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