CampusRN Job Blog
Nursing shortage solution: West Virginia Nursing Network
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
In December 2010, Jill Hopkins decided she wanted to do something to help with the nation’s nursing shortage. Hopkins quit her job as an agency nurse and started her own company, West Virginia Nursing Network, LLC.
“I decided I wanted to give other nurses other opportunities,” Hopkins said.
Hopkins ran the 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week business by herself until March when she became overwhelmed with the workload. Her sister, Jessica Whitman, offered to help, and then she, too, quit her full-time nursing position and partnered with Hopkins.
Today, Hopkins and Whitman split the duties of co-owning a business—Hopkins handles the scheduling and acts as the liaison while Whitman deals with organization and research.
“My phone starts ringing at 4 a.m. and goes until 11 at night,” Hopkins said.
West Virginia Nursing Network offers temporary staffing of registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, certified nursing assistants and certified medical assistants for health facilities that need their services. The professional staffing company also has a team of PICC line-certified RN’s available when needed.
posted in: news, Employer News, West Virginia
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West Virginia Nurses Ralley For Health Care Reform
Friday, January 29, 2010
Nurses from across West Virginia rallied at the state’s capitol Wednesday for health care reform.
Chanting “Health care reform now,” members of the West Virginia nurses association marched into the capitol rotunda as part of nurse unity day. The nurses say they want better staffing rations in hospital as well as initiatives that prompt nurses to strive for a higher level of patient care and professionalism.
posted in: news, West Virginia
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West Virginia University Hospitals Win National Nursing Award
Friday, December 18, 2009
MORGANTOWN—West Virginia University Hospitals ranks at the top of the country for its nursing services.
The university hospital is the only one in the nation to receive the Magnate award twice.
The American Nurses Credentialing Center put the hospital staff through a rigorous inspection for the award, first in 2005, and again this year for standard re-evaluation.
posted in: news, West Virginia
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Debate threatens nursing facilities
Monday, October 12, 2009
CHARLES TOWN - Carolyn Togans was not aware the proposed cuts to skilled-care nursing homes included in health care reform legislation being considered by Congress until she recently attended a presentation at Shenandoah Center where her mother is a resident.
She is aware now, though, and Togans plans to do something about it. With determination, she took information with her after the presentation on how to start a petition drive to fight the cuts.
Togans, about 12 residents and an equal number of employees who attended the presentation were urged to write letters, circulate petitions and make telephone calls to their U.S. representative and senators protesting the cuts to Medicare.
posted in: news, West Virginia
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Nurses Want A Role in Health Reform
Friday, September 18, 2009
The President of the West Virginia Nursing Association says nurses want to be an integral part of the health care reform solutions being touted in Washington DC.
Beth Baldwin was recently among a group of nurses that voiced their concerns in a meeting at the White House with President Obama on the subject. Speaking on MetroNews Talkline, Baldwin said health care reform must be a sweeping change in order to be effective.
posted in: news, West Virginia
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W.Va. in top 10 places for doctors
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
PARKERSBURG - A magazine about the business end of medicine has ranked West Virginia in the top 10 best places for doctors to practice.
Medical Economics in its July 10 issue ranked West Virginia ninth. Texas is No. 1.
The magazine, founded in 1923, cited unemployment lower than the rest of the nation in April and income increases in 2008 in West Virginia.
posted in: news, West Virginia
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Health Care Reform in West Virginia: A Lesson from the States
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
A big casualty of the congressional health care reform legislation would be the loss of state flexibility in the financing and delivery of affordable health care options for their citizens.
Under the House bill, the federal government would regulate private insurance for the first time and dramatically increase its control over the Medicaid program. Flexibility will be sacrificed for uniformity and federal control.
Congress is ignoring important lessons that states have learned. It should pay particular attention to West Virginia, which has experimented with Medicaid reform and has learned a lot about what those reforms accomplished.
posted in: news, West Virginia
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Creating nurses, not just students
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Once, at the School of Nursing, grade point average and standardized test scores were all that mattered. Students hoped for the highest marks they could achieve and administrators used them as a barometer for success.
Then came Betty Shelton.
Or, rather, then came Betty Shelton again. She had worked at West Virginia University for three years as a faculty member before taking an administrative job in Pennsylvania. It didn’t last long. The commute was easier, but she missed the supportive environment she’d left behind. So she returned to Morgantown in 2004, this time as the assistant dean of student services and with the intention to turn admissions on its head.
posted in: news, West Virginia
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Transforming Care Together Initiative at Charleston Area Medical Center Increases Time Spent on Pati
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
An efficiency initiative at Charleston Area Medical Center (CAMC) is increasing the time nurses spend caring for patients and directly contributing to better overall patient care, reduced costs and decreased hospital-created illness.
The process improvement program, Transforming Care Together, initiated in September in conjunction with RWD(R) Healthcare, has increased patient care time at CAMC’s Trauma Unit. With nurses spending more time caring for patients at the bedside, pressure ulcers - also known as bedsores - have been reduced to zero for the last two quarters, which used to be as high as seven percent within the unit. Patients unable to change position in bed are at increased risk for bedsores, which may lead to complications due to infection.
posted in: news, West Virginia
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Labor and union officials push for federal health care reform
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
CHARLESTON, W.Va.—West Virginia citizen and labor groups are pushing for the first major federal health care overhaul since President Clinton’s first term.
“We have a critical window right now with both the president and Congress wanting reform,” West Virginia Citizen Action Group Executive Director Gary Zuckett said Monday.
“In this country if you get sick and you’re uninsured or underinsured you stand to lose your house or life savings,” Zuckett said. “I don’t think it should happen in this country.”
posted in: news, West Virginia
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