49 CNAs Graduate from NICHE Program
49 CERTIFIED NURSE ASSISTANTS RECOGNIZED
AS NICHE GERIATRIC PATIENT CARE ASSOCIATES
COVINGTON - To further improve St. Tammany Parish Hospital’s care for older patients, 49 Certified Nurse Assistants have become NICHE (Nurses Improving Care for Health System Elders) Geriatric Patient Care Associates.
“They are often the eyes and ears for the doctors, nurses and patients’ families,” said Karen Seal RN, an STPH clinical educator.
STPH is one of seven Louisiana hospitals to achieve the designation from the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing at New York University’s College of Nursing and the only such facility on the Northshore. Hospitals that earn NICHE designation, the only national geriatric nursing program that addresses the needs of patients 65 and older, undergo rigorous assessment of their clinical practices.
“The patient population is changing, so how we practice nursing is changing with it,” said Ellie Lomzenski RN, an STPH clinical educator.
NICHE protocols are proven to reduce hospital readmissions and shorten inpatient stays among older patients.
“This is about increasing independence,” said Louise Dill CRRN, NICHE coordinator at STPH.
The NICHE designation also gives STPH access to the latest, research-driven geriatric protocols. The hospital is using those findings as part of ongoing assessment of its nursing protocols, from how to best prevent bladder infections among older patients to helping them regain mobility.
The following CNAs were recognized June 17 for graduating from the course:
| Anita Allen |
Tiffani Banks |
Victoria Banks |
Isabel Barry |
Brittany Beal |
Deborah Bickham |
| Janice Bickham |
Lacey Boudreaux |
Kimberly Buckhanan
|
Bertha Burton |
Joseph Cannon |
Sandra Carr
|
Natasha Chouest
|
Errica Dawson
|
Christine DeCoursey
|
Kristina Deering
|
Ofelia DeLeon
|
Quiana Dorsey
|
| Mary Fowler |
Maggie Frazier
|
Bianca Garrett
|
Camellia Garrett
|
Consuella Gerald
|
Linda Griffith
|
Rowena Hinton
|
Etta Irving
|
Erica Jacobs
|
Amanda Jarrell
|
Vivian Kanu
|
Angela Knight |
Ricky Landrum
|
Lacey Manning
|
Lisa Martin
|
Eugene Morton
|
Mary Ann Peters
|
Jessica Perbes
|
Lucila Ridgeway
|
Andrea Robinson
|
Alex Schell
|
Shawanna Sharp
|
Rachel Taft
|
Paige Temple
|
Demetria Toliver
|
Stephanie Toombs
|
Catherine Travis
|
Pearla Varnado |
Michael Washington
|
Paula Whatley
|
Roxie Williams
|
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A full-service acute care facility committed to providing world-class healthcare and the latest technology, St. Tammany Parish Hospital delivers today’s life-improving procedures with the utmost care to area residents with emphasis on wellness, preventive care and disease management close to home. STPH is a self-supporting not-for-profit community hospital; it receives no tax funding. STPH.org
PHOTO IDENTIFICATION
Front row, from left: Bianca Garrett, Lucila Ridgeway, Janice Bickham, Rachel Taft, Pearla Varnado, STPH NICHE Coordinator Louise Dill RN, Clinical Educator Karen Seal RN; and back row, STPH Chief Nursing Officer Kerry Milton, Lacey Boudreaux, Andrea Robinson, Errica Dawson, Brittany Beal and Kimberly Buckhanan.