Nursing program awarded $20,000

HOT SPRINGS — The Arvest Foundation recently gave $20,000 to the National Park College Foundation to support the college’s nursing and health sciences programs.

Dean of Nursing and Health Sciences Janice Ivers expressed her thanks, noting the funds will help ensure students continue to receive extensive, hands-on experiences with up-to-date equipment that is so crucial during their enrollment.

“The donation will contribute to National Park College’s goal of providing a premier education that benefits students, the workforce, employers and ultimately, the patients receiving care,” Ivers said in a news release.

According to the Arvest Foundation’s website, its primary purpose is to support local organizations doing outstanding work to improve the quality of life in the communities it serves.

“We have clinical experiences with real-life patients in the hospital setting, but we’ve got to prepare them before they do that,” Ivers said Wednesday.

She said the nursing and allied health labs use very expensive simulation equipment. While some equipment is disposable, requiring the college to periodically buy and replace items, other things require maintenance and updating as equipment and technology change.

It’s vital, she said, to ensure that everything stays in perfect working order, is updated and is current.

“We have to constantly look at that and plan for that, and project what we’re going to need. And as things change … equipment, technology, software, we also have to be aware of that,” she said.

“And so having partners like Arvest Bank that gives us those resources and, you know, whether it’s $5 or whether it’s $100,000, we’re constantly having to keep up with, ‘OK, what do we need?’ ‘What are we going to need?’ You know, ‘What’s upcoming?’ ‘What’s going to change?’ And so it needs a lot, a whole lot.”

Arvest Community Bank President Franklin Bass said Arvest is excited about being able to award the grant.

“This significant contribution is a testament to our strong belief in the crucial role that nurses play in our local health care community,” he said in the release. “We take immense pride in supporting NPC’s unwavering commitment to educating and preparing the next generation of health care professionals.”

Ivers noted the importance of partnerships and how college programs need them. She said the community has rallied around National Park College, and, specifically, the nursing program.

In November, the college received a donation of supplies from CHI St. Vincent to benefit students and faculty of the nursing and health sciences programs. Supplies included various medical equipment and materials such as catheters, syringes, gel pads and wound dressings, at a total value of $1,452.83.

“[The community] has rallied around the college in general on lots of things, but because my oversight is nursing and allied health, then, you know, I see those first hand and what it means to have those partners out there that are willing to step up and help us educate that next generation of workforce of health care workers,” she said.