Home 
News Local News CNAs play essential role at hospital, care center
CNAs play essential role at hospital, care center
|
At the care center CNAs are the front-line caregivers, said Sue Coppin, nursing director. In the hospital they provide support services, she said. At the care center CNAs provide hands-on care to help with the activities of daily living, meeting the clients’ functional needs, she said. “This makes an incredible difference in the resident’s life,” she said. About 20 years ago the state required testing and licensing of CNAs through the state board of nursing accreditation program, said Coppin. So they not only have to pass the local test, but a state test also. A 70-hour class is taught locally by Kathy Potter, RN. The first month is classroom training and the second month is clinical training. The class limit is 10 and the current class is full. There will be another class in the spring, Coppin said. The cost is $1,200, but it can be paid for by the health care district for people who work for the district for one year, Coppin said. At the care center there is a four-month window during which CNAs who passed the local test can work before being certified. At the hospital they must be state certified before working there. Some CNAs take advanced training such as that to become a certified medical assistant who can pass medicines as needed. At the care center there are four CMAs, 20 CNAs, two LPNs and six RNs in addition to Coppin and Resident Care Manager Trish Grant. Unlike in the hospital, the care center residents have stable medical needs, Coppin said. They just need varying degrees of help with day-to-day needs varying for instance from those who can walk with a walker to those who are bedridden, for whom most everything must be done. The state wants people to age in a home-like situation, Coppin said. And, the care center also wants to provide clients with an environment that they like, she said. The state also dictates the ratio of CNAs to clients, Coppin said. It used to be one CNA to 10 clients, then it went to one to eight. By Feb. 9, 2009, it will be one to seven, she said. “We are already there,” Coppin said. The ratio in Enterprise is one to six. The nursing home industry is the most highly regulated in America, she said. There are lots of rules and a lot goes on behind the scenes to meet those rules. For instance, there is a lot of required record keeping, she said. The state inspectors with the last annual survey were impressed with the Wallowa Valley Care Center, she said. The center provides personal care to the residents and the center gets a lot of community support, Coppin said. “CNAs are a very very important part of long-term care,” Coppin said. “They’re the ones that make things happen. They are very much appreciated. Without them we couldn’t do what we’re dong,” she said. A challenge though is that they come and go, she said. About half of Coppin’s staff have been there a long time. The other half has gone on to do such things as become nurses — another educational opportunity for which the health district can pay. So a pipeline of new people is continually needed. That is why the class twice a year is so important. With this specialized job, you just can’t put in a request at the employment department, Coppin said. At Wallowa Memorial Hospital CNAs provide direct patient care such as taking vital signs or the diabetic Accucheck for blood sugar, doing computerized charting and electronic medical records. They can also take vital signs in the ER, help in trauma situations and assist during labor and delivery. They pass the meal trays and give baths and showers. “Simple things mean a lot to patients,” said Chief Nursing Officer Laurie Marcum about providing a warmed blanket, a cup of coffee or combing a patient’s hair. “CNAs are invaluable to what we do here,” she said. “We have some of the best CNAs I’ve ever worked with,” said Lori Chapman, RN. “They’re witty; ferociously competent,” said patient Tom Hutchison. With advanced training CNAs can become ward clerks where they function as a unit secretary, answer the phones, transcribe physicians’ orders and direct the flow of patient traffic in the unit -— such as patients coming out of the ER or recovery room, or show the patient’s family to the room.” It’s a big multi-tasking job,” Marcum said. “I love it,” said Missy Campbell, CNA, EMT-B, a 12-year veteran. “It’s a great (CNA) program,” said Hannah Blanford, another 12-year CNA veteran. With advanced training, CNAs can also learn to read cardiac monitors in the nurses station, she said. CNAs team up with a nurse to provide total patient care for two to seven patients, Marcum said. A large portion of them go on to become nurses or other health care professionals, she said. Marcum herself started as a CNA and became a ward clerk at Grande Ronde Hospital in La Grande then worked her way through nursing school in Boise by being a CNA at St. Lukes Hospital. Some local CNAs who took advanced training are nursing supervisors Teri Judd and Tami Wood. Cindi Demee, CNA, became a nurse and is now in the re-entry program to become recertified as a nurse. “The hospital gives a grant for this. I think that’s really generous. This is a helpful education program,” she said about the program in which the nurse can “work off” the educational expenses. Tami Rahn, RN, was a CNA who went on to become the hospital’s case manager. Teri Moncrief was a CNA who became a surgery technician who scrubs in and handles the instruments and assists the physicians with surgery in the operating room. “It’s a very good (CNA) program. It’s a good starting point for anyone who wants to get into the health care field,” Moncrief said. Kristi Wade was a CNA who became a nurse anesthetist. Traci Frye was a CNA who became a family nurse practitioner, the medical surgical manager and the infection control manager. “Our desire is for people to be all they can be,” Marcum said. “This is a rewarding career that pays well, and one can usually get a job anywhere. Health care is a booming field.”
|
