Belmont University celebrated the grand opening of the new 90,000 square foot McWhorter Hall at a ribbon cutting event held on campus Saturday. The state-of-the-art academic building houses the Schools of Pharmacy and Physical Therapy, as well as the Department of Psychological Science. McWhorter Hall is being named in honor of Belmont Trustee Emeritus and Chairman of Clayton Associates, Clayton McWhorter, and his brother, the late pharmacist Fred McWhorter. Both men dedicated their careers to the healthcare field, making a difference in the lives of countless individuals and championing healthcare reform. In addition to his longtime relationship with the University and his work on the School of Pharmacy’s initial Study Team and External Advisory Committee, Clayton is also providing a major leadership gift in support of Belmont’s new academic building.
Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “This building is a model, 21st century academic facility that will provide the perfect space and environment where our students and faculty can intersect in service to help meet the medical needs of our community and our world. We are honored to have the McWhorter name on the building, knowing that it will endow this space with a legacy of compassionate, professional care for others that our students will be equipped to emulate.”
Monthly Archives: August 2010
‘New Careers in Nursing’ Scholarship Program Continues
The School of Nursing has announced that for the second year in a row, it has received funding to award scholarships from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) through the RWJF New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program (NCIN). Grants provided through this competitive program will be given to students traditionally underrepresented in the field of nursing and strives to prepare culturally competent leaders in Belmont’s accelerated Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing program.
NCIN was launched in 2008 to address the national nursing shortage and fuel the pipeline of diverse nurse faculty. “Through the NCIN program, we are challenging the nation’s nursing schools to be innovative and resourceful in how they grow their nursing programs, diversify student populations and contribute to the nursing leadership of tomorrow, said Denise A. Davis, Dr. P.H, RWJF program officer for NCIN. “We are very pleased to support this unique approach, particularly at a time when growing numbers of Americans are gaining insurance and entering our health care system.”
Dr. Chris Algren, Belmont’s associate dean of nursing, said, “We are so pleased that we have once again received funding for the New Career in Nursing scholarships. This program has increased enrollment in the accelerated program for second degree students who are underrepresented in nursing. Since little funding is usually available for second degree students, we are very appreciative to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for assisting us to meet the needs of these highly motivated students.”
Belmont Races Into Top 5 in U.S. News Rankings of America’s Best Colleges
University hits highest ranking ever; honored for teaching, innovation
At the release of last year’s U.S. News & World Report rankings of America’s Best Colleges, Belmont University President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “Seven is the perfect number—until we reach six!” Today Belmont leapt right over position No. 6 to land at No. 5 in the Best Regional Universities—South category, the University’s highest placement in its history. Since 2003, Belmont has risen 16 spots on the nation’s prestigious rankings chart, from 21st to 5th.
Fisher said, “There are times when even I am speechless. Rising to the Top 5 in U.S. News represents a key element of Belmont’s Vision 2015 plan. To reach this level of prominence already demonstrates the immense dedication and talents of Belmont’s faculty, staff and students in accomplishing what has clearly been an ambitious University goal. One thing’s certain: complacency is not an option. We will continue our efforts to seek positive change and growth at every opportunity.”
Belmont was also honored for the third year in a row by fellow college administrators as a top “Up-and-Comer” for making “the most promising and innovating changes in the areas of academics, faculty, student life, campus or facilities.” Recognizing Belmont’s vision to be a “leader among teaching universities,” Belmont was ranked second in the South category for strong commitment to undergraduate teaching and for learning communities.
School of Pharmacy Selected to Join Study with Vanderbilt for Interprofessional Medical Training
The School of Pharmacy at Belmont University has been invited to join Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in a three-year study to bring students in different disciplines together to learn to serve patients as a team.
The study is being funded by a $600,000 grant from The Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, who for nearly 50 years has focused resources on improving the education of health professionals.
Through this grant, first-year medical students and first-year advanced nurse practitioner students from Vanderbilt will join with first-year doctoral-level pharmacy students from Belmont University and Lipscomb University and first-year master’s-level social work students from Tennessee State University to learn how to work together more efficiently and effectively.
‘Green Roof’ Completed on New Health Sciences Building
With the official opening of the new health science building next week, the installation of a green roof on 90,000-square-foot facility has recently been completed. The only large extensive green roof on an educational facility in Nashville, the green roof serves several purposes including a reduction in the “heat island effect,” which refers to the trend of generally higher temperatures in urban areas as opposed to more suburban areas. The green roof lowers air temperatures which helps reduce that effect. Green roofs also provide natural habitats for wildlife (birds, insects, etc.) and reduce pollution by holding pollutants rather than washing into groundwater, sewer or drainage systems. In addition, the green roof can retain some rainwater for irrigation and can reduce the heating/cooling costs by providing lower temperatures around air intake systems.
Pharmacy Care Center and Health Services Open Today in New Facility
Starting today, the new Belmont University Health Services and Pharmacy Care Center open their doors in the nearly-completed health sciences building, adjacent to the Inman Center. The collaborative initiative between Belmont’s expanded Health Services Center and the new Pharmacy Care Center will create a unique interdisciplinary approach to servicing the needs of Belmont University while also providing a working classroom for Belmont’s student pharmacists.
In addition to traditional prescription filling and or compounding services, the pharmacy will offer many healthcare items found in retail pharmacies (over-the-counter products, vitamins, first-aid items, etc.). The Pharmacy Care Center will also provide various pharmacist consultation, education and wellness programs such as smoking cessation, diabetic counseling and Medication Therapy Management (MTM).
Belmont Nursing Student Moves On from Tennessee Titans Cheerleading to Focus on Her Studies
Kristin Singh is one of Belmont’s many nursing students but she boasts an extra special extracurricular–for the past two years she has shared the sidelines with the Tennessee Titans as a Titans cheerleader.
She began her academic career as a marine biology major at the College of Charleston but through a series of major changes found herself in the neuroscience department. She moved to Belmont “because it was one of the only schools in the Nashville area that had a neuroscience major” and soon “started thinking about nursing after hearing how great Belmont’s program was.” Once in the nursing program she quickly formed a bond with Mrs. Keary Dryden, her clinical instructor her first semester. Kristin recalls, “I was so nervous for my first clinical, and she made it easy for me to relax and learn as much as I could. She still challenged me, but she did it in a way that made me comfortable.”
OT students reach out to Nashville’s homeless
Students in Belmont’s Master of Science program in Occupational Therapy recently lent their time and expertise to Nashville’s Campus for Human Development and the Odyssey program.
The Campus for Human Development was formed in 1995 by Room In The Inn and is the city’s only single site of services to the homeless, offering an array of assistance. The Odyssey program was designed to help chronically homeless individuals through a progression of basic steps that establish a stable and productive life including healing, education, life skills, recovery, job readiness, and housing. Men who qualify for the program are homeless and have been unsuccessful with substance abuse treatment in the past. Odyssey provides housing and therapy for these individuals over a two year period of time.
The School of Occupational Therapy developed a relationship with Odyssey through Professor Yvette Hachtel. Dr. Hachtel provides services, as needed, to program participants to help them increase their success in job situations, to acquire and maintain comfortable living situations and to develop new healthy habits.
The students assess the needs of participants and then provide groups depending on the current need and level of the client. In the most recent visit the students worked with the men to plant flowers and help in their assimilation back to a more normal lifestyle.
Healthcare Job Opportunities Continue to Grow
A story in today’s Tennessean about future job prospects included several paragraphs about the growth of jobs in the healthcare industry.
From the article. . . .
“Health care also continues to add jobs as the first wave of baby boomers, born from 1946 to 1964, hits the official retirement age at the end of this year.
Health-care employment, much like IT jobs, requires a degree of specialization. There were 13,760,000 health-care jobs in June, up from 13,134,000 in December 2007.
Employment in medical and diagnostic labs held steady throughout the recession, growing to more than 217,000 jobs through May 2010 from about 213,000 in December 2007.
Employment in hospitals rose in the same period to 4,705,000 jobs from 4,564,000. It’s grown every month but one since the recession began. Hiring in home health-care services grew to 1,066,000 positions in June from 934,000 in December 2007.”
The full article is linked here.
Dr. Andrew Webster presents findings of study to AACP
Dr. Andrew Webster, Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, recently presented the findings of a study, co-authored by Cathy Turner, on the “Design, Development, and Implementation of a Professional Pharmacy Curriculum in Iraqi Kurdistan” at the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Annual Meeting in Seattle WA. The AACP represents pharmacy education for the US and is comprised of all accredited colleges and schools with pharmacy degree programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, including Belmont University. Dr. Webster also chaired a discussion at the meeting on “Fostering a Positive Work Climate in the Department” and was installed as the Chair-Elect of the AACP Section of Teachers of Chemistry.