JACKSONVILLE -- Without the new Tyler Junior College-Jacksonville, Brittany Taylor of Troup said she would not have been able to attend nursing school.
"It's the only way I was able to go," Ms. Taylor said. "I'm very thankful it's here and that they start at the times they did." She would not have been able to attend classes in Tyler because of her schedule, she said.
The new nursing school, located at East Texas Medical Center-Jacksonville, is more convenient and offers smaller class sizes, she said. "I love it," Ms. Taylor said, also noting the quality of the teachers.
Tyler Junior College, East Texas Medical Center Regional Healthcare System, Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics as well as the Jacksonville Economic Development Corporation (JEDCO) celebrated the opening of the new TJC-Jacksonville with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday.
"What a great day this is," TJC President Dr. Mike Metke said. "I just couldn't be prouder.
"We've never seen a project move this fast or this well."
Metke joked that some told him if he was able to bring these two hospitals together, "they were going to send me to the Middle East next."
Metke explained what each of the partners brought to the table to make this project possible.
ETMC provided the 4,500-square foot facility, which is a wing of ETMC Jacksonville, while Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics provided $225,000 to help secure much- needed faculty and is providing clinical training sites for student nurses, officials said, and JEDCO is providing $360,000 over the next three years, including $240,000 for start-up costs.
"These hospitals and JEDCO have invested in the future," Metke said. "We need nurses. These students are going to graduate with great jobs."
On hand for the ribbon cutting were Darrell Prcin, the president of JEDCO, Tom Cammack, chief administrative officer for Trinity Mother Frances-Jacksonville and Elmer Ellis, ETMC president and CEO, as well as a host of other dignitaries.
Prcin said during a ceremony prior to the ribbon cutting that from the idea to enrollment, TJC-Jacksonville took about four to four and a half months to make a reality, noting it was an "amazing timeline."
While it was a speedy process, he said it was a smooth one.
He told the crowd gathered in the lobby of the hospital that in addition to having home grown nurses, the partnership will also benefit the area economically.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for Jacksonville," he said. "I was proud to be a part of the process."
Jack Endres, ETMC Jacksonville administrator, said this was a "natural fit" for ETMC Jacksonville.
"We had the space that was available that we knew we could use for a nursing school," he said. "Hospitals are probably the most impacted by the shortage of nurses, so it really was a win-win situation for us ГўВ?В» It was too good of an opportunity to pass up."
Endres called the finished product, "beautiful."
"There's nothing you can say but, 'wow.' It's a tremendous facility, and I'm glad to have it here," he said.
Cammack also said he thought the facility turned out great.
Why did the Trinity Mother Frances system want to be involved?
"We always need nurses," he said. "Our preference obviously would be to be able to train as many nurses as possible and educate them right here at home, encourage them to stay in this area and work in our hospitals. When all this came up and was being talked about, it was kind of a no-brainer. This was just something we needed to do."
Inside TJC-Jacksonville
About 4,500 square feet of space at ETMC Jacksonville was renovated to house four classrooms, two nursing skills labs and three faculty/staff offices.
One of the classrooms is outfitted with 20 computer stations that one student described as "state of the art." The two skills labs are equipped with patient simulation dummies which instructors can program to have an abnormal heart rate, abnormal breathing or other conditions which students can learn from in a hands-on way.
The first class scheduled, the 12-month vocational nurse education program for LVN preparation, began Monday. Of the 20 students enrolled, 18 are residents of Cherokee County, according to TJC information.
At the newly-renovated facility, LVN courses and the LVN to RN (registered nurse) transition program are available.
The associate degree nursing transitions program designed for LVNs to move into the second year of the ADN program has a planned start date of Oct. 20, according to TJC information. These students will complete their RN program in December 2009.
Nursing prerequisite courses are also being taught at night at the facility, including English I&II, Introduction to Psychology, Human Growth and Development and Human Anatomy and Physiology courses, said Paul Monagan, TJC dean of allied health and nursing.
"There's a lot of room for us to add more courses," Monagan said. "As the demand comes along, we'll be glad to have additional courses. Whatever Jacksonville wants us to do, we'll do."
Monagan said everyone involved went above and beyond to make the new nursing school a reality.
"It's a perfect example of a community working together to do something that's going to serve us all so well," he said.
And it's because of this partnership that students such as Ms. Taylor are able to work toward achieving their goals.
Ms. Taylor's personal experience with her young son spending much of his first year of life in hospitals helped her decided she wanted to be a nurse.
"Those nurses took such good care of him," she said. "It's just the most amazing job."
Those interested in any of the Jacksonville-based programs or courses should contact the advising office of the TJC School of Allied Health and Nursing at 903-510-2662. (source)
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