Cedarville Magazine
|
23
Supporting the HSC Was an Easy Decision
Cedarville’s vision for its pharmacy program is spot on, and that
excites me. The University understands the need for a relationship
between nurses and pharmacists, and it understands the way
technology is rapidly changing the way health care is being
delivered today. Both of these realities are built into the newHealth
Sciences Center.
Technology is playing a huge role in streamlining health
information, improving communication between all health
care disciplines, and encouraging more interdisciplinary
approaches to patient care. For example, I worked with an ER
doctor who developed a software program that uses data from
the provider databases and the Ohio Board of Pharmacy. It
calculates a score that will help doctors, nurses, and pharmacists
identify and respond to patients who are potentially abusing
prescription medications.
The days of doing patient assessments on paper are behind
us, and familiarity with the electronic medical records (EMR)
hospitals and physicians’ offices use is a huge advantage. The
Health Sciences Center has a fully equipped teaching clinic so
nursing and pharmacy students can practice working with EMRs,
just like they’ll be doing in the field. This will translate to a higher
comfort level for students when they begin doing rounds in clinical
settings. The field needs individuals who understand what the
technology can do and can tell programmers, “If I had
this
, I could
do my job better.”The end users —nurses and pharmacists —will
be a factor in shaping the future of health care technology.
My wife was in the first class to graduate from Cedarville’s
nursing program. I earned my business degree at Cedarville and
also work in the health care field. Supporting the Health Sciences
Center financially was an easy decision for us. We understood the
need and the impact this building would have, and we wanted to
give a little bit back. As the health care landscape changes, this
building will make a real difference for students, one they may not
fully appreciate until they’re out working in the field.
Marty Larson ’89
Executive Director, Greater Dayton Area
Health Information Network
Advancing Cedarville
