 A Modern-Day Roundtable Deploys
Its Forces in Charles County
As King Arthur discovered in his Camelot, a roundtable is a
good tool for giving meeting participants an equal say in planning how to reach
a common goal. He would no doubt be pleased that the roundtable concept is
alive and well in Charles County.
The common purpose at this roundtable, however, is not
chivalry, but speaking with one voice about the many benefits of a health care
career—and the many settings for that career. These settings are
represented by Healthcare Roundtable participants, from school health to
assisted living; home health to acute care. This broad base is the reason the
roundtable is working well, says Christine Stefanides, CEO of the county’s
sole provider hospital, Civista Medical Center and roundtable participant.
“The roundtable is successful,” she says,
“because a continuum of health care providers is involved. It is more
typical for health care providers to meet only among themselves, whether health
departments, health educators, or home health agencies.”
Founded two years ago by the Charles County Economic
Development Commission, the roundtable’s consistent message, combined with
state efforts, is already having an impact. Stefanides reports there were 55
graduates at last month’s nurse pinning ceremony at the local College of
Southern Maryland—the highest number in five years.
In addition, Stefanides sees an increasing number of junior
and senior high school students interested in health care careers. She
attributes at least part of the rise to the Nursing Unlimited clubs that the
roundtable helped launch in county middle schools and high schools.
When high school club members came to Civista to get a
first-hand look at nursing, Stefanides was impressed by how well they grasped
the concepts behind nursing. “They picked up on the level of caring and
compassion that nurses bring to their relationship with patients,” she
says. “One young woman who had been thinking of becoming a physician said
she now thought that nursing may be the place for her.”
The Healthcare Roundtable is the result of Economic
Development Commission efforts to create more jobs in the county. Currently,
about 60 percent of employed residents work outside the county, which is among
the fastest growing in the state. Among other industries, the commission is
targeting health care as a source of new jobs for county residents.
The roundtable’s focus extends beyond students; recent
retirees are a second target audience. “The county has designated October
as ‘health career month,’” says Stefanides. “We’re
planning activities for this fall that reach out to retirees who may be
thinking about starting a new career. We’ll point out that health care
makes a good second or third career.”
When asked what she sees in the roundtable’s future,
Stefanides describes a broad-based competition that will culminate in an awards
dinner next spring. Planning is already underway; the kickoff for nominating
outstanding health providers in eight categories will take place during this
fall’s health career month. In addition, an overall “health care
hero” will be selected—the kind of person who no doubt would have
felt right at home among the dedicated knights of Camelot.
Contact:
Donna Gray
Executive
Assistant
Civista Health
P.O. Box 1070
La Plata, MD 20646
Phone:
(301) 609-4265
E-mail: donna.gray@civista.com
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