From the desk at the Hi-Line Retirement Center

As I write this morning, from the nursing department the weather has warmed. We are doing well the colds, flu, and pneumonia have made the rounds but not in an epidemic fashion. Our census is 49. We are expecting two additional residents this month. The nursing department is fully staffed with six registered nurses, seven licensed practical nurses, four med techs, one restorative aide and thirty-one certified nurse’s assistants. I am Barbara Dunbar the Director of Nursing; we teach and train our own CNAs, which is a must. Our next CNA class will be in March.

Montana Area Health Education Center has put the LPN apprenticeship program in our facility. We currently have four students doing their pre-requisites online from MSU Billings, with two semesters of Practical Nursing Program also online and at home. The goal of HealthCare Montana is to train at home and keep staff in our community. We are so proud of this program and these students; it has been a process and never as easy as it sounds. These students have to interview into the nursing program. I have acquired my CRRN preceptor training through Helena College, so these students will do their long-term care clinical rotation here, and the Phillips County Hospital also has Certified Registered Resource Nurses (CRRN) on staff, so acute care will be done there. These facilities are investing in the creation of home-grown healthcare employees.

We have applied for and received a grant to put the Memory and Music Program in our special care unit. This program was created by Mountain-Pacific Quality Health in Helena. The program is in several facilities in Montana and has a proven success rate. We are looking forward to this program being put in place.

Please stop in any time and visit, the coffee is always on. You can always reach me at 654-1190 or [email protected].