For Immediate Release

Mercy Grows Workforce with First Class of Graduates

Oklahoma City—Mercy Health Center announces its first class of co-workers to graduate from the School at Work (SAW) program. With an increasing national shortage of nurses and other healthcare workers, SAW provides job advancement and career development for entry-level co-workers.
 
Beginning last summer, six Mercy co-workers joined SAW – a program developed by Louisville, Kentucky-based Catalyst Learning to provide a career ladder. By providing SAW, Mercy places an emphasis on retention and advancement of entry-level positions into clinical, clerical and support roles. 
 
“School at Work has given me the confidence to enroll in a nursing program,” said Kathy Logue, who started at Mercy as a housekeeper 24 years ago and today provides physician referrals for Mercy Central. “I’ve always wanted to be a nurse but for one reason or another, I never got around to it. In the 1990s, I went back to school to get my basics but my mother was diagnosed with cancer and I quit to take care of her. School at Work has given me the incentive to go back to school so I can be a nurse.” 
 
Four of Mercy’s six SAW graduates will soon begin pursuing higher education at Rose State College, OSU/OKC and other local institutions. Other graduates plan to apply for higher-level positions at Mercy.
 
The SAW “Building a Career Ladder in Healthcare” program uses the internet, computer labs, DVDs and staff coaching to deliver instruction. Co-workers review basic reading, writing and math skills; improve computer proficiency; and study medical terminology, medical ethics, anatomy and physiology. Students also develop an individual career and learning plan to follow in reaching their goals. SAW has been used at more than 115 hospitals in 18 states since 2002. 
 
SAW graduates include: Tamara Bruner, a practice support service tech at Mercy Health Edmond Memorial clinic, of Oklahoma City; Dixie Jackson, food preparer in Food and Nutrition, of Moore; Kathy Logue, patient access representative for Mercy Central, of Crescent; Kathleen O’Connor, supply technician, of Oklahoma City; Sherry Simmons, environmental service tech, of OKC; Kristle Triggs, a food service tech, of OKC. Recruiting for the next SAW class at Mercy will begin in May.
 
“SAW has a measurable impact,” said Patty Porter, Mercy Community Outreach and SAW coach. “It improves morale and overall job performance and it prepares our co-workers for continuing education in healthcare.”

Press release dated: April 3, 2009

Mercy Health Center, the first Magnet hospital in Oklahoma, is a member of Mercy Health System of Oklahoma and the Sisters of Mercy Health System. Magnet-designated facilities: report higher patient satisfaction rates, deliver better patient outcomes, provide more nursing care at the bedside of patients and consistently outperform non-magnet organizations.