COVINGTON – In what is being hailed as a watershed moment for healthcare education on the Northshore, St. Tammany Health System leaders were joined Monday (Jan. 21) by local education stakeholders and government officials to cut the ribbon on the St. Tammany Academic Center, a free-standing education facility in Covington designed to train the region’s next generation of healthcare professionals.
“Education, training, coaching and mentoring have always been part of who we are at St. Tammany Health System. It is embedded in our core philosophy,” St. Tammany Health System President and CEO Joan Coffman said. “Today, we enter into a new realm of education that speaks directly to our mission.”
The result of an ongoing partnership between the health system, the Southeastern Louisiana University and Northshore Technical Community College, the nearly 12,000-square-foot facility – which welcomed a new class of nursing students this month – is grounded in continuing education, workforce development, and career growth and advancement, Coffman added.
With its five classrooms, two skills labs and four hospital simulation rooms – all outfitted with financial help from donors to St. Tammany Hospital Foundation – the facility will cater to students at various levels of the healthcare spectrum. That includes those enrolled in an accelerated nursing program through Southeastern, two cohorts of NTCC students working toward associates degrees in science and nursing, and additional educational offerings including a component designed to reach interested high school students at Covington’s St. Scholastica Academy.
In addition to providing students an opportunity to earn needed skills without leaving western St. Tammany Parish, the center was designed to bolster the local healthcare workforce, providing a direct pipeline of talent to St. Tammany Health System and other local healthcare organizations.
“This partnership builds directly on what we already have: nursing colleagues who set the standard for nursing care in our region, as well as mentoring, fellowship and education,” STHS Chief Nursing Officer Kerry Milton said. “We want to broaden opportunities for individuals, especially our Northshore neighbors, by bringing these education opportunities close to home.”
The center will also cater to current St. Tammany Health System colleagues interested in furthering their healthcare education, according to STHS Assistant Vice President of Workforce Development Bronwyn Doyle, who spearheaded the center’s founding.
“What excites me about this is that it’s not only a pipeline initiative, where students from the Northshore are able to go to classes and do their clinicals without leaving the Northshore – and then stay here and work at STHS at the end of their coursework,” Doyle said. “That’s one exciting piece, but the St. Tammany Academic Center also provides us the space to do upskilling and additional training for our current colleagues. So the value here is twofold.”
Taken as a whole, the new center presents an opportunity that Southeastern President Dr. William Wainwright urged students to embrace fully, hinting that the future for the facility is bright.
“Whenever higher education comes together with our business and industry partners, we create access and opportunities for students, so take full advantage of this incredible resource,” Dr. Wainwright said, adding, “This is just the beginning.”
That sense of optimism was echoed by Northshore Technical Community College Chancellor Jim Carlson.
“I think everybody here probably has the same thing in their mind that I have, and that is, we all want quality healthcare close to home,” Carlson said. “Together we’re building a brighter future for students and contributing to the enhancement of overall healthcare services here on the Northshore.”
The St. Tammany Academic Center is located at 71040 Louisiana 21, just south of St. Tammany Health System’s flagship St. Tammany Parish Hospital. Learn more about it at StTammany.health/AcceleratedNursing.
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About St. Tammany Health System
The heartbeat of its community, St. Tammany Health System cares for patients and families with excellence, compassion and teamwork. It is recognized for quality, safety and service excellence by CareChex, Leapfrog, Healthgrades, Hospital Compare, Women’s Choice and US News & World Report. St. Tammany Parish Hospital Service District No. 1 and Ochsner Health work together in partnership to improve the community’s health and quality of life. Together, west St. Tammany’s top two independent health leaders represent the most complete system of care, aligning behind the common goals of improving access, expanding specialty care and making care affordable. Under their agreement, each retains its autonomy; neither manages nor owns the other. Self-supporting, not-for-profit STHS is A+ rated by Fitch and receives no tax funding. More at StTammany.health