Galen College of Nursing Opens Phase One of New Advanced Simulation Center, Dedicated to Institution Founder, and Galen Chairperson, Kathryn M. Mershon

October 24, 2013 — Louisville, KY — Galen College of Nursing has opened a 3,000 square feet simulation center at its River Green campus, to be dedicated to College founder and Louisville resident, Kathryn M. Mershon, MSN, RN, CNAA, FAAN, with a dedication ceremony to take place on Tuesday, November 12, 2013, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. The dedication ceremony will be kicked off by Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and other city and state leaders. This marks the completion of phase one of Galen’s Advanced Simulation Center development, which will double in size with phase two, scheduled for completion mid-2014. When complete, Galen College of Nursing will house one of the state’s largest high-fidelity nursing simulation centers.

Phase I of the new lab features three simulation rooms with supporting control and debriefing rooms. High-fidelity simulation refers to structured student learning experiences with the use of technologically advanced computerized mannequins, which are anatomically precise and reproduce physiologic responses. Students are administered sequential decision-making events within an environment that mimics a clinical setting and instructors can control the mannequins’ responses to the students’ interventions. The state-of-the-art laboratory addresses a critical component of nursing education’s ability to translate nursing theory into safe and effective patient care.

Mershon was Humana’s Chief Nursing Officer when the decision was made to open a nursing school to address a severe nursing shortage in the late 1980’s. Placed in charge of its creation by David A. Jones, Sr., Humana co-founder, she was instrumental in creating the organizational infrastructure, the development of curriculum and the approval of regulatory bodies to open three campuses of the Galen Health Institute, serving as President until 1992. Mershon was called upon again in 2006 to serve as Chairperson of the College’s independent board of directors.

Mershon is particularly pleased to see this use of technology evolve at the college she helped create. This technology is critical in the preparation of students to go into clinical settings with live patients. As nursing educators, it is invaluable to the development of critical thinking skills and the ability to assess and make real-time decisions. Students are also able to practice a procedure in a deliberate, controlled environment. It helps better prepare new graduates for transition into the workforce.

Said Mark Vogt, President Galen College of Nursing, “As a founder of the College and our board chair of seven years, Kathy Mershon has been unwavering in her efforts to provide nursing education that is both accessible and of the highest quality. The dedication of the Advanced Simulation Center honors Kathy’s enduring commitment to preparing our students to become competent and caring nurses and to advancing the profession.”

Editors and reporters: For interview opportunities, please contact College of Nursing Marketing Manager Anna Kitson at 502-410-6215, akitson@galencollege.dev.

About Galen College of Nursing

Founded over 20 years ago, Galen College of Nursing is one of the largest private nursing schools in the United States. With a focus solely on nursing education, the College offers practical/vocational nurse (PN/VN) and associate degree nursing programs to students on its campuses in Louisville, Ky., San Antonio, Texas, Tampa Bay, Fla., and Cincinnati, Ohio. Galen is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. For more information about Galen College of Nursing, visit our website.

Galen College of Nursing Earns Place on National Honor Roll for Community Service

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Galen College of Nursing was named to the 2013 Presidential Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. This designation is the highest honor a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement.

Galen College of Nursing has a long history of service-learning and believes strongly in preparing our graduates to be active leaders, and participants in an ever-changing world said Mark Vogt, Galen College President, “We’re honored to receive this prestigious award and owe much of it to the students themselves. They’re the energy driving our commitment and they’re the ones who make it all happen.”

This is the fourth year that Galen College has been named to this dedicated list of community service honorees. With its more than 3,000 students and 500 employees, Galen provided over 12,000 hours of service to the communities of Louisville, Ky., Cincinnati, Ohio, San Antonio, Texas and Tampa Bay, Fla.

“Congratulations to Galen College of Nursing, its faculty, and students for its commitment to service, both in and out of the classroom,” said Wendy Spencer, CEO of CNCS. “Through its work, institutions of higher education are helping improve their local communities and create a new generation of leaders by challenging students to go beyond the traditional college experience and solve local challenges.”

Inspired by the thousands of college students who traveled across the country to support relief efforts along the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, CNCS has administered the award since 2006 and manages the program in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as the American Council on Education and Campus Compact.

More information on eligibility and the full list of Honor Roll awardees can be found here.

About Galen College of Nursing

Founded over 20 years ago, Galen College of Nursing is one of the largest private nursing schools in the United States. With a focus solely on nursing education, Galen offers practical/vocational Nurse (PN/VN) and associate degree nursing programs to over 3,000 students on its campuses in Louisville, Ky., San Antonio, Texas, Tampa Bay, Fla., and Cincinnati, Ohio. Galen is nationally accredited by the Commission of the Council on Occupational Education (COE) and is also a candidate for accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award associate degrees. For questions about the accreditation status of Galen College of Nursing, contact: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097, 404.679.4501.

The President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll honors the nation’s leading higher education institutions and their students, faculty and staff for their commitment to bettering their communities through service. These are institutions that reflect the values of exemplary community service and achieve meaningful outcomes in their communities.

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, the Social Innovation Fund and other programs, and leads President Obama’s national call to service initiative, United We Serve.

NLN Appoints Steve Hyndman as Public Commissioner

LOUISVILLE, Ky., January 4, 2013—-Today, Galen College of Nursing announces that Steve Hyndman, Vice President of Online has been appointed as the Public Commissioner of the Certified Nurse Educator Commission by the National League for Nursing (NLN) Academic Nurse Educator Certification Program (ANECP).

The Public Commissioner is appointed to represent the direct and indirect users of Certified Nurse Educator services and to effectively advocate for public protection. The Public Commissioner has the same privileges and authority, and is expected to perform the same duties as those of all other Certification Commissioners.

Prior to joining Galen, Dr. Hyndman was Associate Dean, Graduate Education & Director, Center for Educational Technology at Georgetown College. He also taught Educational Leadership and was Director of Educational Technology at Eastern Kentucky University. Dr. Hyndman served in the US Air Force for many years and served as Chief both in the Complaints and Investigations branch as well as the Exercise and Evaluation branch for the Office of the Inspector General.

About Galen College of Nursing

Founded over 20 years ago, Galen College of Nursing is one of the largest private nursing schools in the United States. With a focus solely on nursing education, Galen offers practical/vocational Nurse (PN/VN) and associate degree nursing programs to nearly 3,000 students on its campuses in Louisville, Ky., San Antonio, Texas, Tampa Bay, Fla., and Cincinnati, Ohio. Galen is nationally accredited by the Commission of the Council on Occupational Education (COE) and is also a candidate for accreditation with the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award associate degrees. For questions about the accreditation status of Galen College of Nursing, contact: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097, 404.679.4501. For more information about Galen College of Nursing, visit our website.

Galen San Antonio Campus Expands 2012

SAN ANTONIO, TX-May 25, 2012--Galen College of Nursing is expanding its campus by more than one-third to meet increased student demand at the One Technology Center campus (OTC) and making extensive renovations and updates to the Brownwood campus in San Antonio.  At OTC, located at 7411 John Smith, Suite 300, Galen, which previously leased 30,000 square feet, is taking over additional space on the eighth floor, adding 15,000 square feet to the campus. This space will provide areas, equipment, and resources to help students with learning as well as additional space for faculty needs.

One of the most notable additions on the campus will be the Nancy K. Maebius Student Success Center & Library. This center, on the eighth floor, is double the size of the current library and resource center. The Student Success Center will not only have computers for student use, but also the addition of quiet meeting rooms, individual testing rooms and a resource area where students can meet with their counselor or tutor. The center is named in honor of Nancy K. Maebius, Ph.D., MSN, BSN, R.N., a 40-year veteran of nursing practice and education, as well as a researcher and expert in the field. Maebius has been a consultant, educator and faculty member for Galen for more than 20 years.

“Dr. Maebius has been a champion for vocational nursing by authoring and co-authoring textbooks, writing study guides, offering one-on-one tutoring and actively and successfully advocating for vocational and registered nursing policy change,” said Dr. Vivian Lilly, Dean of Galen College of Nursing’s San Antonio campus. “The Nancy K. Maebius Student Success Center & Library creates a learning environment that embraces the values and passion that Nancy continues to exhibit as a nursing educator and advocate.”

Another significant project is the new high-fidelity Simulation Center. This 3,000-square-foot, multipurpose simulation center is a space where students respond and perform in real-time patient situations like those they will one day encounter in the nursing field. The new Simulation Center includes three separate simulation rooms so that three different simulations can be held at once, much like nurses see in any given day in a hospital setting. A multi-patient simulation area provides space for full simulation on non-private room scenarios like those seen in obstetrics and nursery situations. The Simulation Center also includes a nursing station, debriefing rooms and control rooms with video playback technology.

“The Simulation Center will provide supplemental experiences for students’ clinical site learning,” said Lilly. “It will give them an opportunity to participate in situations that they may not encounter at their clinical learning sites, therefore enhancing their skills and readiness to deal with situations once they are nurses.”

Other changes within the expansion project include:

• Two new classrooms, one of which will be used as a computer-based classroom for students taking online courses as well as a testing room to conduct peer testing or entrance exam testing
• A second student break area will be added on the eighth floor in addition to the current break area on the third floor
• Expanded administration and admissions areas to provide improved service to students
• Additional parking spaces as well as access to overflow parking spaces at an adjacent business for daytime students and faculty

At Brownwood, located at 4440 Piedras Drive South, Suite 200, Galen is investing in a renovation of the current space to make it more consistent with the OTC campus and to better meet the needs of students.

These renovations include:

• Facelift of all student areas which includes new paint and flooring
• A substantial remodel of the student break and Student Success areas to create a resource center
• Addition of a computer-based classroom

About Galen College of Nursing

Founded more than 20 years ago, Galen College of Nursing is one of the largest private nursing schools in the United States. With a focus solely on nursing education, Galen offers practical/vocational Nurse (PN/VN) and associate degree nursing programs to nearly 3,000 students on its campuses in Louisville, Ky., San Antonio, Texas, Tampa Bay, Fla., and Cincinnati, Ohio. Galen is nationally accredited by the Commission of the Council on Occupational Education (COE) and is also a candidate for accreditation with the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award associate degrees. For questions about the accreditation status of Galen College of Nursing, contact: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097, 404.679.4501 or visit our website.

Galen Named to President’s Honor Roll for Third Straight Year

Washington, D.C., April 9, 2012 – –  The Corporation for National and Community Service and the U.S. Department of Education today honored the nation’s leading colleges and universities, students, and faculty members, and staff for their commitment to bettering their communities through community service and service learning.

For the third consecutive year, Galen College of Nursing was admitted to the Honor Roll for its work with several agencies that children, families and others in the communities where Galen students and faculty live and work.

“Through service, these institutions are creating the next generation of leaders by challenging students to tackle tough issues and create positive impacts in the community,” said Robert Velasco, Acting CEO of CNCS. “We applaud the Honor Roll schools, their faculty and students for their commitment to make service a priority in and out of the classroom. Together, service and learning increase civic engagement while fostering social innovation among students, empowering them to solve challenges within their communities.”

“Preparing students to participate in our democracy and providing them with opportunities to take on local and global issues in their course work are as central to the mission of education as boosting college completion and closing the achievement gap,” said Eduardo Ochoa, the U.S. Department of Education’s assistant secretary for postsecondary education. “The Honor Roll schools should be proud of their work to elevate the role of service-learning on their campuses. Galvanizing their students to become involved in projects that address pressing concerns and enrich their academic experience has a lasting impact – both in the communities in which they work and on their own sense of purpose as citizens of the world. I hope we’ll see more and more colleges and universities following their lead.”

The President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll recognizes higher education institutions that reflect the values of exemplary community service and achieve meaningful outcomes in their communities. Inspired by the thousands of college students who traveled across the country to support relief efforts along the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, the initiative celebrates the transformative power and volunteer spirit that exists within the higher education community.

As one of the nation’s largest educators of practical and registered nurses, Galen College of Nursing educates students at its main campus in Louisville, Ky., and three branch campuses located in San Antonio, Texas, Tampa Bay, Fla., and Cincinnati, Ohio. On all campuses, Galen embraces a culture of community and service.

“We feel it is our responsibility to educate health care professionals with the express purpose of creating positive change in the communities they serve,” said Mark Vogt, President of Galen College of Nursing. “Galen encourages students, faculty and staff to continuously evolve as responsible citizens who demonstrate a spirit of generosity by providing and supporting service-oriented opportunities.” In developing the college’s strategic plan, Galen created a Service goal of more than 2,000 hours of institutional involvement in community service projects. Students and faculty significantly beat this goal when they logged more than 11,000 volunteer and service-oriented hours. In addition to funds raised by students, staff and faculty, Galen annually donates nearly $100,000 to nonprofit organizations.

“While Galen is focused on education and health care, our reach into the communities we serve goes far beyond nursing,” said Vogt. “We are committed to maintaining a positive presence in our communities and serving in any way that is needed. Each campus works with organizations that are important in their community.”

Standing opportunities include involvement with:

• JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation)
  children’s hospitals
• Supplies Overseas, which sends medical supplies to developing countries.
• Habitat for Humanity
• Prevent Blindness Texas
• Toy drives for a number of children’s charities
• Support of military families
• Center for Women and Families (Louisville)
• PassPort Healthplans’ Healthy Hoops Kick-Off (Louisville)
• Gilda’s Club (Louisville)
• Public health fairs
• Light the Night for Leukemia and Lymphoma
• Blood drives
• Making Strides Against Breast Cancer
• Special Olympics Polar Plunge

“Through organizational and student involvement, service has become a part of Galen’s culture, ultimately helping to shape better communities,” said Vogt.

On campuses across the country, millions of college students are engaged in innovative projects to meet local needs, often using the skills learned in classrooms. In 2010, 3.1 million college students dedicated more than 312 million hours of service to communities across the country, service valued at more than $6.6 billion. Business and law students offer tax preparation and legal services, and college student volunteers provide meals, create parks, rebuild homes after disasters, conduct job training, run senior service programs, and much more.

The Corporation for National and Community Service is a strong partner with the nation’s colleges and universities in supporting community service and service-learning. Last year, CNCS provided more than $200 million in support to institutions of higher education, including grants to operate service programs and the Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards for college tuition and student loan repayment. CNCS is a catalyst for service-learning programs nationwide that connect community service with academic curricula. Through these programs, college students serve their communities while strengthening their academic and civic skills.

CNCS oversees the Honor Roll in collaboration with the U.S. Departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact, and the American Council on Education. Honorees are chosen based on a series of selection factors, including the scope and innovation of service projects, the extent to which service-learning is embedded in the curriculum, the school’s commitment to long-term campus-community partnerships, and measurable community outcomes as a result of the service.

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America programs, and leads President Barack Obama’s national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit NationalService.gov.