Samaritan Health Services -

An Oregon Education Champion

Nationwide, employers are finding it difficult to attract and retain skilled workers for their businesses.  This is especially true in the field of health care where the demand for workers is expanding rapidly as the health needs of the baby boom generation rise.  In fact, according to the Oregon Labor Market Information System, “the number of health care occupations will grow 45% between 2004 and 2010.”  Yet entry into health care careers seems a mystery for many young people, and health care employers are facing a serious labor challenge.

At Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital, a rural hospital in the Mid- Willamette Valley and part of the Samaritan Health Services system, they are taking this challenge and turning it on its head – with an exemplary partnership that connects employers, schools and the community, and benefits everyone.

The Samaritan Health Career and Training Center connects to the hospital and opened its doors to the public in May of 2005. It provides high-quality health care education and training to hundreds of local students and community members in a unique collaboration with Linn-Benton Community College.  The 12,630- square- foot facility, funded entirely through contributions and grants from individuals and organizations including the Spirit Mountain Community Fund and the Meyer Memorial Trust, includes six classrooms equipped with digital projectors and surround sound.  The center holds classes for high school and college students, and adults interested in health care careers, and provides conference space for community and employee meetings.

Some of the health career courses include initial training for sterile processing technicians, certified nursing assistant (CNA), pharmacy technicians, phlebotomists and radiology technologists.

The center is one of only three facilities in Oregon to offer Radiology Technology certification and one of only two facilities in the state to offer Pharmacy Technician certification. 

“These are real family-wage jobs,” said Danette Roberts, coordinator of the health care training center. “The center provides a wonderful opportunity for students or displaced workers to significantly improve their employment situation.”

  Danette Roberts

Working with Students and Mr. Sim

Diane Page, RN is the staff educator at the health center and a long-term employee of Samaritan Health Services.  She coordinates the state-of-the-art Simulation Lab and has seen the effectiveness of simulation to enhance learning.

Those studying in the lab might be faced with a patient who is complaining of headaches, severe chest pains, or is having difficulty breathing - the patient could even die.  Fortunately, the patient is Mr. SIM, a computerized simulation mannequin who can be revived.  The simulation events, known as scenarios, are programmable, measurable and repeatable.  SimMan (who can become SimWoman) produces heart, lung and abdominal sounds. He can talk and interact with the scenario participants and can even withstand the shock of defibrillation.

“The Sims are remarkable teaching tools,” said Page “They provide invaluable real-life training.”  Scenario performance in the SIM Lab may be videotaped, so participants can review their response to a medical emergency or procedures and learn from their experiences.

 The center also reaches out to schools through in-classroom presentations on health careers and by providing student tours of the facility.  Skip Panter, coordinator of student experiences is another long-term Samaritan Health Services employee who helped open the new health center in 2005.  Skip visits schools during the year to talk about the wide range of health care opportunities for students.

Dianne Page with Mr. Sim

“Students are surprised to hear about these opportunities in health care,” said Skip. “Quite a few register for our summer programs and tours.” In fact, over 200 student applications were submitted for the center’s Health Career Open House and the three-day Summer Academy on the campus.  Students who attend classes at the facility participate in simulated experiences.

In addition to reaching out to students in local middle schools and high schools, the health center is designed to enhance the health care training for the 4,300 Samaritan Health Services employees who work in the Willamette Valley and Central Oregon Coast. One of the stated goals of the center is to develop partnerships with first-responders (firefighters, emergency medical technicians, police, etc.) and emergency officials from other local agencies and hospitals in Oregon to help provide optimum first response.

“The health center is an ideal marriage of addressing the education needs of our own workplace in addition to those of the general community,” said Julie Manning, vice-president of development and community relations for Samaritan Health Services and an E3 board member. “We understand employers have a unique role to play in supporting education and our community. Samaritan Health Services is proud to be a leader in this area.”

The Samaritan Health Career and Training Center is an excellent example of how an employer is taking control of its own destiny – tackling the workforce challenge it faces and supporting schools and students in its communities.  And it is doing so in a way that has created a resource that will continue to support the broader community for many years to come.

Kudos to Samaritan Health Services.  They are a great community partner and a true Oregon Education Champion!

Julie Manning