egional collaboration in the health care and advanced manufacturing sectors has been a central element throughout the first year of implementing workforce development solutions under the Northern Indiana Strategic Skills Initiative.

"As a result of identifying key industry and occupational shortages, and their cor- responding root causes, effective solutions are being implemented," two executives of Workforce Development Group, Inc. (WDG) said in a July 31, 2007, report, "Strategic Skills Initiative, First Year Report, Northern Indiana Workforce Board — EGR2." "These initiatives represent the first steps towards preparing a workforce to meet challenges of a 21st Century economy in Northern Indiana," said Dan Hendricks, vice president of operations, and Chuck Pressler, vice president of research and resource de- velopment. The Northern Indiana Work- force Board is leading the SSI effort; WDG is regional operator of Economic Growth Region 2, spanning Elkhart, Fulton, Kosciusko, Marshall, and St. Joseph counties.

On the healthcare side, the SSI program is supporting five major projects: a Masters of Nursing academic program at Indiana University South Bend; a Respiratory Therapist Associates Degree and Certi- fication program at Ivy Tech Community College in South Bend; a program to provide clinical simulations using state-of-the-art mannequins; a program on English as a second language for nursing testing at Ivy Tech; and a Health Care Workforce Leadership Consortium of organizations in Region 2.

The advanced manufacturing projects under SSI include:  equipment for the newly opened Warsaw Orthopedic Advanced Manufacturing Center in Kosciusko County; training in basic manufacturing, welding, and computer numeric controls (CNC) machining for applications in the orthopedic- and advanced-manufacturing sectors; and a 21st Century Skills Focus on the Future Forum.

EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS WITH HOSPITALS, CLINICS 
ENORMOUS BOOST FOR MASTERS OF NURSING PROGRAM
Instructional classes for students in the Masters of Nursing (MSN) program at IUSB are expected to begin in the fall of 2008. "Partnerships have been established with each of the regional hospitals and clinics, for the dual purpose of developing clinical sites and pursuing financial support," Hendricks and Pressler wrote. "Many regional hospitals have contributed financially to the MSN program in order to provide assistance with staff, facilities and supplies."

Under Indiana's regulatory policies concerning instructors who teach in nursing programs, MSN students pursing a masters degree may teach other students in registered nurse (RN) programs. Officials with IUSB and the SSI program anticipate that two of the incoming masters degree students will elect to join nursing faculties throughout northern Indiana, thereby boosting the "nursing education pipeline" by at least 10 students per semester. "If two MSN candidates per year similarly go into teaching," Hendricks and Pressler added, "the RN pipeline will be increased by a minimum of 100 students per year within the next five years."

Ivy Tech North Central in South Bend plans to admit 10 students to its respiratory therapist program in the fall 2007 term, followed by another 14 incoming students in fall 2008. The first graduating class of credentialed respiratory therapists is expected at the end of summer 2008. "By 2010, much of the current regional shortage of hospital-based respiratory thera- pists will have been alleviated," they explained. "It is anticipated, however, that more respiratory therapists will be needed by regional ambulatory care clinics, surgical centers, home health care organizations, and assisted living facilities because of changes in both the structure of health care delivery and the strategies of third-party insurers."

PROGRAM  FEATURES USE OF  HIGH-TECH 
MANNEQUINS TO ELEVATE SKILLS OF STUDENTS
Memorial Hospital & Health System, based in South Bend, has played an important role by providing space to Ivy Tech for creating a professional respiratory therapy training labor- atory. In addition, regional hospitals and other institutions have donated equipment to Ivy Tech for use in the laboratory and at the clinical training site.

In a related project, the SSI effort has provided incentives — as well as leverage — for another regional health care provider, Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center (SJRMC), to purchase a training program in the Advanced Cardiac Life Support specialty.  The program will use Laerdal mannequins and American Heart Association software in a certification-based training program.  SJRMC has campuses in South Bend, Plymouth, and Mishawaka.

Mannequins will be placed and used at the following locations:  Kosciusko Community Hospital and Grace College in Winona Lake, Ind.; Goshen Health System and Goshen College; South Bend Memorial Health System; Elkhart General Hospital; IUSB; and
Saint Mary's College, South Bend.

"Use of mannequins for clinical training will increase the throughput of nursing candidates in clinical sites by 10 percent during each of the next several years. As RN programs expand their training to off-hours, during which mannequins can be used for scenario-based training," Hendricks and Pressler wrote, "nursing students will in general increase their critical thinking ca- pacity." In addition, they discussed how the mannequin program will not only energize nursing students but also benefit the entire Michiana eco- nomic region.

"The greatest long-term impact will be to improve regional health care by developing better and sharper critical thinking skills in nursing students. Studies have demonstrated the kinds of improvements in decision-making that can result from the use of clinical simulators," they explained. "Secondly, an expansion of the nursing pipeline of 15 percent is anticipated, as more clinical sites develop strategies for rotating students between mannequin-based training and nursing station activities."

HR MANAGERS IN  HEALTH  CARE 
WILL  HELP  SET  KEY  PRIORITIES
In an effort to boost the number of bi-lingual nurses in Michiana, the SSI program is collab- orating with Ivy Tech North Central and the Spanish Literacy Consortium of Elkhart County to provide courses in English as a second language for nursing testing.  Officials anticipate up to 30 potential nursing candidates for whom English is a second language to enroll in the program during the fall of 2007. By the winter of 2008, the number of bi-lingual nurses in Economic Growth Region 2 should start increasing, and the region could benefit from a 10-percent jump in the population of bi-lingual nurses each year.

The final SSI effort in healthcare is a newly formed Health Care Workforce Leadership Consortium. This effort, directed by healthcare providers and staffed by WDG, will bring together top human resources managers in the health-care field to determine critical priorities concerning the nursing shortage and workforce shortages in other health-care fields. The consortium's strategy will concentrate on areas including:

 MARKET — Market career opportunities in health care to middle school and high school students
 ENHANCE — Enhance educational opportunities in health care, not only in certification-granting programs, but also via training and occupational ladders and lattices;
 EXPLORE — Explore ways to improve the quality of students in the educational process as they prepare for professional health care careers;
 MAKE — Make government a facilitating partner; and
 EXCHANGE — Exchange information about trends in regional health care, technologies and training options.

This effort could have broadly positive impacts on the region. For instance, over the long-term, more emergent and incumbent residents may seek education, skills and employment in health care fields. Moreover, sustained programs with secondary school systems will garner heightened educational capacity and student interest, Hendricks and Pressler said. And there should be long-term improvements in the quality of training in relational and technical skills for students going into health care fields. Finally, WDG will pursue grant opportunities to ensure that these strategies happen.

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