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Home » About Norwich » SGS Today »
News Feature
[Stefan Hard/Times Argus].
MSN roundtable tackles key issues in rural health care
by Sarah Tuff, correspondent
© July 17, 2009 Norwich University Office of Communications
Of the many touted benefits of rural life, institutional health care can sometimes fall behind the clean air, expansive views and soul-giving solitude. In cities, ill or injured individuals have immediate access to a wide variety of enormous teaching hospitals with hundreds of beds and a slew of physicians and nurses. In the country, meanwhile, there are Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) — hospitals that may not have all the resources of a large urban hospital but which serve as a vital link to the modern health care system for many small rural communities.
CAH nurses, chief nursing officers (CNOs) and other patient-care advocates often wear many hats. Now, a proposed $2 trillion cut in spending by the American Hospital Association, adoption of information technology and an aging boomer population are impacting CAH nursing in myriad ways — some troubling, some inspiring. To address these issues, Norwich University's Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program recently hosted a special roundtable discussion during its annual residency week.
When Annie Moore-Cox, the MSN program director, chose the roundtable topic, she aimed to target something unique about nursing leadership in Vermont — the high concentration of CAHs and nurses who run them fit the bill.
"The students come from all over the country and practice in all sorts of institutions," says Moore-Cox. "I imagined that this would be a rare opportunity for them to hear from this group of nurse leaders about their challenges in the current health care environment."
Flash-forward to a late June morning: a panel of nine CNOs and patient-care services directors face an audience of about 30 MSN students in Norwich's Kreitzberg Library Rotunda.
Moderator Michael Carrese, a former political TV reporter and host of "Inside Albany," after some opening introductions asks the panelists what scares them, and what encourages them, about health care reform.
"My fear is that we will be impacted by this financial crisis," says Veronica Hychalk, CNO for Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital in St. Johnsbury, Vt., "in terms of looking at our patients and dealing with the amount of resources."
"I'm encouraged by the promises of the Vermont State Legislature," says Jill Lord, director of patient care services at Mt. Ascutney Hospital in Windsor, Vt. "What scares me is the amount of money that has to go into the infrastructure."
This tug of war, between aspirations and adversity, will later be echoed by the panel as they express their own institution's challenges — finances, staffing — and their words of encouragement for the MSN students.
"Follow your heart and follow your passion," says Hychalk.
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“It's been some time since I've experienced such a profound sense of collegiality, inspiration and hope.”
— Ann Marchewka |
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Aaron French, senior director of nursing at Copley Hospital in Morrisville, Vt., tells the group, "Without nurses, there would be no health care."
But first, there is an honest look at the life of a rural hospital: seeing anywhere from six patients in the emergency room with minor scrapes and bruises, to having multiple trauma cases from a car accident; trying to keep up with the shift to electronic medical records; the occasional isolation; promoting wellness while treating illnesses.
"It's incredibly interesting to look at health care reform from a different perspective," says MSN student Kathleen Studnicka of Oklahoma during the break between the hour-long opening discussion and the hour of questions from the audience.
MSN valedictorian Patti Beaver adds that she sees the roundtable as a reinforcement of the standards of patient care she and her classmates learned at Norwich.
Several days after the roundtable, Ann Marchewka, vice president for patient care at Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital in Lebanon, N.H., expresses her thankfulness for the nursing roundtable and its call for leadership, and for programs such as Norwich's Master of Science in Nursing.
"It's been some time since I've experienced such a profound sense of collegiality, inspiration and hope," she says of the roundtable, pointing to how students and panelists not only raised key elements of reform such as health coverage for all, delivery system restructuring and cost control, but also "beautifully articulated a vision for health care."
The MSN program ties in well with the demands of nursing, says Marchewka. "Its programmatic focus on emerging theories of leadership, social justice and global citizenship, along with an open learning environment gives us exactly what we need to advance the agenda in health care today."
While the roundtable marks the end of one educational experience for MSN students, it opens the door for many more — whose benefits may include enacting permanent positive change for rural health care.
As Janet Scherer, chief of patient care services at Springfield Hospital in Springfield, Vt., tells the MSN students in the roundtable's conclusion, "Being a nurse is about lifelong learning."
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