A new $24,500 grant from The Provident Bank Foundation (PBF) will help Georgian Court University (GCU) nursing majors acquire hands-on training for neonatal care.
“We are grateful to The Provident Bank Foundation for funding equipment that is crucial to the training of our students, and especially important given that nursing is one of the fastest-growing fields in the nation,” said GCU President Joseph R. Marbach, Ph.D.
The PBF grant will fund a Newborn Tory neonatal simulator, giving nursing majors access to important demonstrations, hands-on instruction, and testing modules. While all nursing students will be able to use the neonatal simulator, juniors studying maternal child health and pediatrics will have the added benefit of specialized training.
The university’s program, which resides in the Georgian Court–Hackensack Meridian Health School of Nursing, has nearly 400 nursing majors and attracts highly talented students from across the region. The school offers both B.S.N. and R.N. to B.S.N. programs. Since 2015, enrollment of nursing majors is up 103 percent, and nursing is now the largest undergraduate major at GCU. By graduation, more than 90 percent of GCU nursing graduates are employed—often by Hackensack Meridian Health facilities across the region. As a result, GCU nursing graduates encounter patients throughout Ocean, Monmouth, Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Middlesex counties.
Nursing Majors Benefit From Realistic Experiences
The Newborn Tory is produced by Gaumard, which provides simulators for health care education. The simulator weighs six pounds and looks and feels like a real, 40-week-term newborn. It has full range of motion in the neck, shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees. Nursing students can also monitor the baby’s airway, breathing, heart rate and circulatory functions, digestive system, blood pressure, pulse, and many other functions.
The ability to train on such a lifelike and innovative simulator as Newborn Tory ultimately brings real-life scenarios to nursing majors in the classroom. The experience not only develops students’ skills, it improves retention, test scores, and confidence so that graduates are prepared when entering the workforce.
“Patient manikins that simulate human functions serve as a bridge between classroom learning and real-world experience. With the Newborn Tory, our student nurses will be better prepared to serve their future patients,” said Teri Wurmser, Ph.D., chair of the Georgian Court–Hackensack Meridian Health School of Nursing. “Support from PBF to purchase the Newborn Tory will ensure quality clinical training and fill a critical void in the curriculum.”
Provident Bank Foundation Meets Nursing Majors’ Needs
GCU will use the funds to purchase the Newborn Tory for use starting this fall. The April 2020 award was among PBF grants made to 15 organizations within the foundation’s three priority areas—community enrichment, education and health, and youth and families—across the New Jersey and Pennsylvania communities served by Provident Bank.
“We are pleased to help further valuable initiatives put forth by local organizations who are working every day to strengthen the lives of residents in our communities,” said Samantha Plotino, PBF executive director. “We will continue to provide support to these important organizations that have identified an immediate need in the community and for the individuals they serve.”
About The Provident Bank Foundation
The Provident Bank Foundation was established in 2003 by Provident Bank to enhance the quality of life in the region through support of not-for-profit groups, institutions, schools and other 501(c)(3) organizations that provide services in communities served by the bank. Since inception, the foundation has granted more than $26 million to not-for-profit organizations and institutions working toward stronger communities. For more information, visit www.theprovidentbankfoundation.org or call 862-260-3990.
