SDSU-VA Nursing Partnership: A partnership between San Diego State University and the Department of Veterans Affairs will be one of three other university-VA partnerships across the country to launch a new program called “Enhancing Academic Partnerships Program.”
The five-year, $40 million pilot program will be used to address the national nursing and faculty shortages, said Carole Hair, the program director for the VA Nursing Academy. It was announced Aug. 2.
In San Diego, VA-registered nurses will have the opportunity to work as faculty for clinical learning at SDSU, and SDSU faculty will be able to work part time at the VA, Hair said. The program will also strive to increase student enrollment in bachelor’s degree programs and provide “opportunities for educational and practice innovations,” according to the VA’s Web site.
Three other VA-nursing school partnerships chosen in July were the University of Florida, the University of Utah, and Fairfield University in Connecticut. Overall, 12 programs will be selected to participate and the $40 million will fund the dozen sites that will be starting up during the next three years. Hair said she expects the SDSU program to kick off in the spring semester 2008.
The VA Nursing Academy was created earlier this summer to deal with a nationwide nursing shortage, according to VA spokeswoman Cindy Butler.
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Paradise Valley Hospital Accreditation: Paradise Valley Hospital said Aug. 17 that it received its full accreditation from The Joint Commission under the new ownership of Victorville-based Prime Healthcare Services Inc.
The 301-bed National City hospital earned the Gold Seal of Approval, representing its compliance with the Joint Commission’s national standards for health care quality and safety, said hospital spokeswoman Claire Newlon.
“I’m elated,” said Dr. Prem Reddy, founder and chairman of the board of Prime Healthcare Services. “Toughest of all was the Joint Commission and we passed with full accreditation. It’s a substantial accomplishment.”
Prime Healthcare Services, which owns eight acute-care hospitals in Southern California, purchased the hospital in March for $30 million. It was previously owned by Adventist Health.
“The bar has been raised,” Reddy said. He added that the addition of several benchmarks at the hospital helped ensure the accreditation. The emergency room now has no bypass time, meaning no ambulances are rerouted, where it previously functioned with one-third bypass time.
“We make it a point at our hospitals,” Reddy said. “Commitment, money and resources. We had to beef up our staffing and our ancillary (services).”
From July 17 to 20, the commission performed an unannounced evaluation at the hospital, observing patient care and safety standards in order to award the accreditation. The Joint Commission, based in Illinois, has evaluated and accredited 15,000 health care organizations and programs across the country, according to Newlon.
