Dameron Hospital wins third Healthcare-Job Creation training funds contract for RN training to continue the Governor’s state-wide initiative to address the shortage of high skilled nursing professionals

Contact: Nicholas D. Arismendi
Chief Operating Officer
Dameron Hospital Association
525 W. Acacia Street
Stockton, CA 95203
ARRA Funding: $600,000

Due to the on-going State budget crisis ETP has been receiving only a portion of its core funding and is now helping the Feds develop the billions of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars (aka Obama Stimulus Monies) to eligible applicants. At the discretion of Governor Brown a portion of this money has been targeted for incumbent nurse training in the private, non-profit healthcare sector, with an emphasis on rural hospitals in high unemployment areas of the state – a perfect match for Dameron Hospital in Stockton. With the most recent contract approval, over $600,000 has been awarded to Dameron since the hospital first applied for ETP funding in January 2010.

The purpose of this ARRA funding is to provide critical job skills re-training to RNs and LVNs that otherwise would not be eligible for ETP training funds under the standard program. As has been well publicized, many non-profit hospitals are reporting softening patient volumes, limited access to capital, and a rising tide of bad debt and charity care. This has impacted many non-profit hospitals’ ability to self-fund important nurse training.

In the first ETP contract, over 30 new graduate nurses (most hired from the Delta College RN program) who were not prepared to assume responsibility for patient care received extensive theory and practical clinical training from an experienced and trained preceptor, and; over 150 incumbent RNs were trained in advanced critical care skills, advanced cardiac life support, advanced neonatal intensive-care, chemotherapy and biotherapy, conscious sedation, dysrhythmia, and operating room nursing skills to name a few.

As a direct result of the training Dameron reports that the compliance for the Joint Commission requirement of providing hospital discharge to patients went up to 98% and nursing vacancy rate had decreased from 14.58% in 2009 to 8.11% in 2010. Dameron has extended its appreciation to the ETP, the California Nurses Association who approved the ETP proposal, and hospital training staff for extraordinary support during this critical period in the health care industry.