HANYS features Surgical Technician training at UVMHN partner hospitals Alice Hyde Medical Center and Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital
Vermont Business Magazine Alice Hyde Medical Center (AHMC) and Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH), northern New York partners of The University of Vermont Health Network, have been featured in the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS) Member Spotlight for their innovative and collaborative approach to training a new generation of surgical technicians and preserving access to patient care.
The Surgical Technician Pathway is part of a series of pioneering initiatives by the UVM Health Network Center for Workforce Development designed to enhance the skills of its existing workforce and increase the overall number of health care professionals in northern New York and Vermont.
It offers Network employees, specifically employees of our New York partners at AHMC and CVPH, the opportunity to grow their careers and train as highly qualified surgical technicians while continuing to earn an income. Surgical technicians are difficult to recruit and the northern New York hospitals have had to secure the services of expensive, but necessary, traveling staff to ensure continued access to patient care.
Launched last Fall in partnership with Clinton Community College and Mohawk Valley Community College, the 61-credit Associate of Applied Science program combines online and hands on learning to prepare graduates to sit for the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (NBSTSA) national exam.
“The Surgical Technician Program and others offered by the Network’s Center for Workforce Development directly address the workforce shortages we face and reduces our reliance on expensive, traveling staff while supporting employees’ desire to grow professionally,” said UVM Health Network Director of Workforce Development Jerry Baake.
AHMC and CVPH President Michelle LeBeau added, “Meeting the challenges in health care today really requires us to work even more collaboratively and to be forward thinking. To alleviate the need for surg techs, our Perioperative Services teams took an innovate approach, initiating a plan to train our own.
The partnership between our organizations – Clinton Community College, Mohawk Community College, and the UVM Health Network, enabled that plan to come to life. It’s a great example of what can be accomplished when we share ideas and a common goal. Through the great work of the Center for Workforce Development we are supporting our teams’ desire for professional growth, preserving access to patient care and continuing to build our financial stability.”
The HANYS Member Spotlight highlights how member hospitals and health systems are transforming healthcare and showcases care providers' efforts to deliver quality healthcare to their patients and communities.
About The University of Vermont Health Network
The University of Vermont Health Network is an integrated system serving the residents of Vermont and northern New York with a shared mission: working together, we improve people’s lives. The partners are:
- The University of Vermont Medical Center
- The University of Vermont Health Network Medical Group
- The University of Vermont Health Network – Alice Hyde Medical Center
- The University of Vermont Health Network – Central Vermont Medical Center
- The University of Vermont Health Network – Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital
- The University of Vermont Health Network – Elizabethtown Community Hospital
- The University of Vermont Health Network – Porter Medical Center
- The University of Vermont Health Network – Home Health & Hospice
Source: PLATTSBURGH, NY (03/08/2024) - UVMHN
