LaRue County High School collaborates with university and nursing home to offer nurse-aide training course

Fifteen students at LaRue County High School have signed up for a new nurse’s aide class offered in coordination with Campbellsville University and a local nursing home through which students will earn a nurse certification. The class is being subsidized by the county school district.

The school board agreed on June 17 to pay $300 per student.  Although students accepted into the program will be expected to cover the remaining $200 of the course fee, grants are available to help them, and upon completion of the course,
students will receive a
certificate stating that they have completed some medical training, says Denise Skaggs, instructional supervisor for the school system.

“The
course is titled as an SRNA (State Registered Nurse Aide) program; where
students will learn skills involving senior personal care, mobility
assistance, checking vitals (i.e. heart rate, blood pressure etc.) and
minor medical equipment use and care,” says Rebecca Roscoe of the LaRue County Herald-News.

Classes will be coordinated by Campbellsville University and held at
the Brockman Center in Hodgenville and at the Sunrise Manor nursing home, where the course’s required 16
clinical hours will take place, reports Roscoe. The hands-on clinical experience will be a great benefit, Skaggs said.

The idea for the course came from a survey in which 45 students expressed interest in a nursing program due to their interest in pursuing a medical career, Roscoe reports. Administrators talked to Taylor County school officials, who
have implemented a similar program, to gain insight about launching their own program.  Thirty students applied and 15 students have been accepted by a review committee.

“I’m glad to see us offer something specific for our students that will help them achieve success in their future career,” Skaggs told Roscoe.

“I think the program is a great addition because it speaks to our community … and now that we know the services that are available for us we want to take advantage of programs offered to benefit and increase our students success.” The program serves as a model for other public high schools to do the same.