By Staff
Thomas Tingle
Record Managing Editor
Crestwood Medical Center in Huntsville has donated a hospital bed to the new Healthcare Science and Technology 1 class at Bob Jones High School.
Brad Jones, CEO of Crestwood, presented the hospital bed to the department's new instructor, Judy Kelly. City officials, including Mayor Jan Wells and City Councilman Marc Jacobson, were on hand at the presentation. They, along with Jones, shared remarks about the new class at Bob Jones and encouraged the students who are taking the class to follow along in their desire to learn more about the health care industry.
The Healthcare Science and Technology 1 class was introduced as a new program for students at Bob Jones this year. The department is housed in the school's new wing. Kelly said Mayor Wells' office was instrumental in getting Crestwood Medical Center to donate the hospital bed to the school.
"Next semester, we hope to add Healthcare Science Technology 2, which will be a two-block course," Kelly said. "The students will spend two days in class and three days a week in a health care setting. The goal is to get them into an area of interest such as physical therapy, labor and delivery, etc."
Kelly said the department has three beds being used for teaching purposes, but the hospital bed from Crestwood will be a huge asset in her program.
"I am a registered nurse learning to be a teacher and my goal in this department is to teach quality health care to the students," Kelly said. "Right now, we have 40 students in this class and I hope to see the program grow."
Kelly said the class offers a general overview of health careers.
"The students are given a general overview of different healthcare related fields. They learn about the history of healthcare and how that impacts healthcare today," Kelly said. "They learn about insurance and different healthcare agencies as well."
Kelly said the students recently completed units on safety and infection control. She said they also learned about the chain of infection, standard precautions, and how to prevent the spread of infection.
"The students will get a good overview of anatomy and physiology, along with pathophysiology," Kelly said. "They will also be learning about many different diseases."
In the lab setting of the class, the students are learning about proper body mechanic, safe patient transfers, how to move and position a patient in bed, how to feed a patient, how to make different types of beds, and other basic nursing skills.
"The three beds we're using are good, but this bed will be used almost daily in the lab setting to teach those basic nursing skills. It is a quality bed with true-to-life features," Kelly said. "It will allow the students to get an accurate idea of what taking care of a real patient is like. It will also be used to test them on the skills they've learned."
Jones told the students who are taking the new class at Bob Jones that they are to be commended for their desire to learn more about the healthcare industry.
"We are very excited to give this hospital bed to Bob Jones High School and I'm very excited to hear about this new program at the school," Jones said. "I'm looking forward to developing a good relationship between Crestwood Medical Center and Bob Jones High School. The students who are taking this class our going to be our future leaders. The healthcare industry changes all the time. It's important for those who have a desire to go into this field are given every opportunity to learn as much as they can."
"I really appreciate the community support that Crestwood Medical Center has shown us," Kelly said. "It is encouraging to know that they support the high school this way and in turn are influencing these students toward a career in healthcare."