b'Pellissippi State Helps Blount County Nurses, Businesses During PandemicBy Lesli Bales-Sherrod to practice skills they may not haveour Nursing program, and it is our Pellissippi State used since they were in Nursinghope that using the simulation lab school. at Pellissippi State will strengthen Pellissippi State Community CollegeThis training enabled us to runtraining for nursing students, new moved its spring 2020 classes onlinescenarios that maybe theyve onlygraduate nurses and experienced due to coronavirusbut the Blountcome across once or twice in theirones, said Dean of Nursing Angela County Campus did not sit idle. career, said Michelle McPherson,Lunsford.One of Pellissippi States earlydirector of education for the hos- Pellissippi States Business and responses to the pandemic waspital. Community Services also continued helping Blount Memorial HospitalSixty-one Blount Memorial nursesits Blount County work during the nurses train to care for COVID-19completed the training at Pellissippipandemic, partnering with DENSO patients. The college allowed theState, which was led by Nursingfor leadership training, Arconic for nurses to use the Nursing simulationskills and simulation laboratoriesassessments, Newell Brands for ap-lab on the Blount County Campuscoordinator Katrenia Hill and Nurs- prenticeship programs and Boat-while students were not on site. ing instructor Anna Wells. Nursesmate Trailers for LEAN training, said We got together with Brianagained more experience in intuba- Teri Brahams, executive director of Dahl, the critical care educator fortion care, putting patients on a ven- economic and workforce develop-Blount Memorial, to create simula- tilator, adjusting ventilator settings,ment.tion scenarios based on actual casessuctioning and proning patients,We also have helped numerous to better prepare these nurses,which means lying them flat onsmall businesses who are taking said Assistant Professor Ronda Mc- their chests. advantage of access to exceptionally Cown, lab coordinator for PellissippiThe trainings culminated in aknowledgeable consultants at no State Nursing. A simulation lab is amock code that allows nurses tocost, thanks to funding provided by safe place to learn because no onepractice what to do when a patientthe CARES Act, through our Ten-can get hurt. is declining. nessee Small Business Development The simulations allowed theBlount Memorial providesCenter, she added.hospitals medical-surgical nursesseveral clinical training areas for 40 Basically Blount 2021'