A new partnership between Saint Mary’s University and Benedictine will allow the university’s students to train as certified nursing assistants and work at the health system’s local senior living facility.
With the new partnership, Benedictine will be able to use the Sandy Adducci Nursing Skills Lab on the Winona Campus to train certified nursing assistants and offer CPR certification courses. The first certified nursing assistant training program that will use the nursing lab will begin on Oct. 9. The courses are open to both the general public and members of the Saint Mary’s community.
“This is a win-win situation for everyone involved,” said Sister Agnes Mary Graves, RSM, DNP, director of the nursing program at Saint Mary’s. “Our nursing students will have the ability to experience work in their vocation prior to graduation, and our top-notch nursing laboratory will truly be a community asset.”
She added, “As a Lasallian Catholic institution, we’re also pleased to partner with a Catholic healthcare organization like Benedictine, which shares our mission and understands the importance of comprehensive healthcare, which means looking at the whole person, body, soul, and mind.”
For more than 30 years, Benedictine Living Community-Winona has offered a certified nursing assistant program onsite. The program, which has graduated just over 6,000 students, offers an instructor-led track with 75 hours of class completed in person with a registered nursing instructor and a blended learning option with 40 hours of class completed independently by the student online and the remaining required hours completed in person with an instructor.
“We are excited to collaborate with Saint Mary’s University and provide an excellent educational experience for those looking to enter into the nursing field beginning with certified nursing assistant training,” said Carol Ehlinger, executive director of Benedictine Living Community – Winona. “Our focus is to continue the hands-on experience of learning and developing nurses with our mission in mind.”
The Sandy Adducci Nursing Skills Lab offers an advanced nursing suite that includes access to hospital beds, patient manikins, and other top-notch training technology.
