Growing our team to meet your needs By Nicole Williams, Chief Operating Officer/Assistant CEO Since the COVID-19 pandemic, like many other health care organizations, Columbia Memorial Hospital has faced challenges in finding the right individuals to join our skilled team. Staffing shortages remain a top concern for health care leadership, even as the field continues to grow. At CMH, we have seen over a decade of growth in service volume. With the increased number of patients, it is crucial to have the appropriate number of caregivers to safely meet the needs of our community. In recent years, we have developed several innovative programs to address staffing concerns, implementing effective strategies to ensure that we meet the needs of our patients. These programs include: ● Donating to support the cost of a nursing instructor’s salary at Clatsop Community College each year, which allows more nursing students to enroll annually. ● Offering annual scholarships for registered nurse (RN), certified nursing assistant (CNA) and medical assistant (MA) students at Clatsop Community College. ● Providing a Nurse Residency Program for newly graduated nurses in their first year of work. This program offers additional on-the-job training before they begin working independently. ● Training caregivers on-site to become pharmacy technicians, who then take their certifying exams after completing their training. ● Running the in-house Medical Assistant Internship Program, which offers paid, onthe-job training for medical assistants, who then take their certifying exams. Learn more about our creative growth tactics as you read through the following pages of this edition of the Health Compass. Our commitment to safety for all For the past two years, CMH has been on a journey to become a High Reliability Organization (HRO) that prioritizes safety for our patients and caregivers. Safety is one of our core values. In 2024, everyone at CMH underwent training on the universal skills of HROs. HRO training is also part of every new caregiver’s orientation. CMH has nearly 20 “safety coaches” throughout the organization. Safety coaches are front-line safety “super users” who can answer questions, identify opportunities to use HRO skills and lead by example. We will continue to honor our heritage by working to ensure the safest care for our patients and safest environment for our caregivers and visitors. Each year, we recognize a caregiver who, using our HRO tools, helped us ensure patient safety. Our 2024 Greatest Catch award winner is Mariah Rudolfi. Mariah is a charge nurse in our Med/Surg unit. She spoke up for safety to make sure the nurses were trained well on a new process before it was implemented. Safety coaches, from left to right, front row to back row: Austin Miller, Marketing; Tammee Saulsbury, Human Resources; Donna Bzdil, Rehabilitation; Michael Wahl, Facilities; Sarah Absher, Imaging Services; Grant Lehman, Business Intelligence; Sarah McClelland, Information Technology; Jennifer Via, Laboratory; Connie Dubb, Imaging Services; Elle Wolf, Endocrinology; Dena Neill, Patient Experience; Jami Hernandez, Physical Therapy; Lonn Martin, Environmental Services. Not pictured: Evandro Almeida Filho, Hospice, and Kitra Biebighauser, General Surgery. 2 HEALTH COMPASS Late Spring 2025
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