CLEARFIELD – The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Foundation awarded a $15,000.00 Highmark Healthcare grant to Lock Haven University’s Nursing program at the Clearfield Campus. The grant provides resources to teach nursing students how to use electronic health records in patient care. The award will be used towards the purchase and implement the Neehr Perfect Networked Educational Electronic Health Record (EHR) system and integrate it into the nursing curriculum.
Kim Owens, LHU Nursing Department chair, and Valerie Dixon, assistant director for LHU Clearfield, designed the program and prepared the proposal.
Dr. Marianne Hazel, LHU Associate Provost and Clearfield Campus Interim Dean shared, “This grant is another example of the quality of our LHU nursing program, and Kim Owens, is to be commended for pursuing this! Our nursing faculty members are so forward thinking, and they keep our program current with the most up to date technology, so that our students are well prepared for the health care industry.”
Lock Haven Clearfield Nursing Associate and Bachelor’s degree candidates, as well as and Physician Assistant Master’s degree students will learn how to record, access and use electronic health data to improve the quality of patient care, increase provider efficiency, and reduce medical errors. The web-based system will be incorporated into the Simulation Lab, where students acquire clinical expertise in a realistic healthcare setting.
“EHRs are rapidly becoming an essential technology tool in both inpatient and outpatient settings within the healthcare industry”, said Kim Owens. “Registered nurses and other clinicians must learn how to create, protect and use EHRs in meaningful ways to improve patient care quality and safety.”
Matthew M. Checchio, Lock Haven Clearfield Campus