Intermountain Healthcare makes another donation
02/28/07 -- Jackie Fletcher -- Dixie Sun
Lifestyles Editor
Intermountain Healthcare is opening up several doors to the students of
Dixie State College. Intermountain Healthcare is opening up several doors to the
students of Dixie State
College.
In support of the students of DSC, Intermountain Healthcare has agreed to give a
total of
$720,000 over the next three years for the development of new health education
programs
on campus. The first installment of $240,000 has already been given.
“The main purpose of this is to hire directors for these programs,” DSC
President Dr. Lee
Caldwell said.
Caldwell also said around one-quarter of students on campus are interested in
the health
sciences field, an amount he thinks will soon grow to at least one-third as
these programs
develop. The programs in progress include respiratory therapy, medical
technology and
physical therapy.
He said the donation was the idea of people at Dixie Regional Medical Center as
they are
in need of more employees.
“They need us to get the programs in place,” Caldwell said.
He said the center has given millions of dollars to the college for medical
equipment
among other things related to the field.
Terri Draper, Intermountain Healthcare public relations director, said DSC has
partnered
with DRMC for several years now, creating a wide variety of programs to develop
healthcare professionals. She said Intermountain Healthcare acts as the parent
company
to DRMC.
Draper said the donation was the product of working with DSC cooperatively for
so many
years, and people like Trustee member Vicki Wilson recognizing an increasing
need from
the college's standpoint for the resources necessary to train students. Wilson,
Draper
said, is also the human resources administrator for Intermountain Healthcare.
“Because we have worked so closely with the college, when the opportunity for
increased
ability to help them through a donation like this came up, Wilson and Terri Kane
(local
Intermountain administrator) worked very hard to do everything they could to
have
Intermountain Healthcare allocate those resources,” Draper said. “This money
will fund
those programs for the next three years.”
The donation is benefiting more than one might think, Draper said.
“It's a win-win-win situation,” Draper said. “It's a win for the community
because they'll have
the health care professionals they need to take care of them in those areas.
It's a win for
the hospital because we will be the ones employing those people, and it's also a
win for
the college because it is attractive to future students.”
She said there are many local nursing homes and other skilled nursing facilities
that might
need respiratory physical therapists, as well as doctors' offices in need of
medical
technicians.
Graduates of these upcoming programs will be able to go anywhere in the nation
as
DRMC serves a multi-state public, Caldwell said.
“It is very important to have this accreditation,” he said.
Draper said DSC will be held to this commitment with reporting requirements at
the end of
each year to ensure that the money is invested wisely.
“That would be the prudent thing to do,” she said.
