Bay Mills Community College will now be offering courses in licensed practical nursing to address local medical professional shortages.
On June 5, the college received approval from the Michigan Board of Nursing to launch the Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) certificate program. LPN certificates were offered at the college years ago but the program was removed in 1999.
The certificate will qualify people to work as a nurse with a foundation of the standards of the practice. It will also include teachings tied to traditional Native American practices to promote a better understanding of unique cultural, racial and social differences among patients in the area.
While a range of clinicians can conduct forensic exams, specialized nurses called sexual assault nurse examiners (SANE) receive rigorous training to provide trauma-informed care throughout the evidence collection and examination process.
SANEs also connect survivors with resources and advocates. SANEs and the advocates they connect survivors with are vital for trauma-informed patient care and for bringing perpetrators of sexual assault to justice. But there is a critical shortage of SANEs across the Gulf South. According to the International Association of Forensic Nurses, a trade group that certifies SANEs, Alabama has 44 certified SANEs for the entire state. Louisiana has 42. Mississippi only has 6 — for a population of almost three million.
Where and how sexual assault patients access this resource varies greatly across the region. Although Louisiana state law requires patients have access to forensic exams in every parish, in practice not every hospital is set up to provide them.
A Penn Township woman is facing charges after police and hospital staff allege that she caused a fire inside UPMC Hanover in April, according to court documents. Michele Warren, 56, of Penn Township, was charged with a felony count of risking a catastrophe, along with misdemeanor charges of recklessly endangering another person and reckless or negligent damage of property, according to charges filed by Hanover police this week.
Nurses at Southern Ocean Medical Center agreed to a contract on Sunday, averting a strike less than 24 hours before the scheduled walkout.
The nurses, who are part of the Health Professionals & Allied Employees (HPAE) Local 5138, were negotiating with the hospital over nurse-to-patient staffing ratios, wages and other benefits. After a day of talks Saturday that continued into early Sunday morning, the union said it reached a tentative deal on a three-year contract.
As health care needs continue to climb across New Mexico, nurse practitioners are stepping up to fill the gap.
Nurse practitioners, or NPs, are advanced practice nurses who can diagnose, treat and prescribe medications. New Mexico allows them to practice independently, a policy that helps reach patients who might otherwise go without care.
Nurses from Henry Ford Rochester Hospital started their strike at 7 a.m.
Monday as contract negotiations continue to stall over staffing ratios. The union is demanding better nurse-to-patient ratios be included in their contract.