(Hospital President Rex Brown, left, with Senator Dick Durbin and CNA instructor Stacy Payne.)


A unique program for beginning nursing students was visited by Illinois Senator Dick Durbin when he toured the Hillsboro Area Hospital campus Monday morning, Jan. 9.

Using state-of-the-art distance learning technology in her classroom in the Hospital's Education Center, instructor Stacy Payne, RN, teaches 14 students located in classrooms at Hillsboro High School, Litchfield High School and Lincolnwood High School in Raymond.

The students are enrolled in the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) program offered as a dual-credit class by Hillsboro High School and Lincoln Land Community College. Upon successful completion of the full-year course (August-May), students will have earned 6-1/2 prerequisite credits to directly enter LLCC's nursing program for either Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) certification or a Registered Nurse (RN) degree.

One of the classes -- which takes place 5 days a week for 1 hour 45 minutes each -- was in progress when Sen. Durbin stopped by. He was able to greet the students and see how cameras, large video screens and computerized display boards allow Payne to effectively monitor and communicate with the students as a class or individually.

This is currently the only CNA program in Illinois using this technology. The Illinois Department of Public Health was responsible for defining such content as being appropriate for distance learning.

The students are required to travel to the Hospital site for labs (hands-on skill training that also requires close observation) and lecture days that are not conducive to distance learning.

Nokomis is the county's only district that does not currently have any students enrolled in the CNA course. However, three students from Mt. Olive High School are taking the classes at Litchfield High School.

Students enrolled in the CNA program are, from Hillsboro High School: Delaney Caulk, Taylor Luck, Hannah Huber, Ashley Newberry, Kayla Ulrici and Abby Paden; Litchfield High School: Brittany Jett and Katelyn Kunze; Lincolnwood High School: Marlie Bloome, Rachel Owens and Katelyn Maxwell; Mt. Olive High School: Paige Garner, Chelsea Parish and Meaghan Manley.

The distance learning equipment was purchased with a $53,128 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The total matching funds pledged by Hillsboro Area Hospital and the Hillsboro, Nokomis, Litchfield and Lincolnwood school districts was $19,000. The Hospital and school districts were required to match 26.34% of the expenses (in total), so that broke out to 4.3% for each school and 9.14% for the Hospital.

Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) worked with the Hospital and the school districts on the grant application and implementation of the project through numerous meetings with the superintendents, technology manufacturers and state governing organizations. MCEDC took the lead in promoting the concept, assuring that the parties kept the topic in front of them and assisting in problem solving.

Hillsboro Area Hospital took the responsibility of administration of the grant, providing space, paying the difference between what the schools could afford and what the USDA grant did not cover.