UHV to host first receivers training in Sugar Land
SUGAR LAND - The University of Houston-Victoria School of Nursing will host one of only two sessions in Texas of a national training program for emergency medical professionals.
“Hospital-Based First Receivers,” presented by a branch of the American Nurses Association, will provide training for nurses who see patients first at the hospital after a chemical spill or other disaster. The training runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday at the University of Houston System at Sugar Land, 14000 University Drive.
 |
| Kathryn Tart |
“We’re honored to host such an important training event,” said Kathryn Tart, founding dean of the UHV School of Nursing. “The information being presented could help save countless numbers of people if the worst should happen. The program is especially important for hospital emergency departments that respond to the ports, ship channels and chemical industries in the Gulf Coast region.”
 |
| Vivian Nowazek |
Two UHV faculty members will be attending the conference: Vivian Nowazek, assistant professor of nursing, and Siva Somasundaram, a researcher and associate professor of biology.
 |
| Siva Somasundaram |
“The information covered in this seminar will be incorporated into our community health nursing course,” Nowazek said. “We also plan to use some of the information in our upcoming spring class on bioterrorism.”
Somasundaram and Nowazek plan to teach the class in the spring along with Keith Akins, an associate professor in the criminal justice department. The class will cover bioterrorism from the angles of chemistry, criminality and how first responders and first receivers deal with the aftermath.
The seminar curriculum will include ways to conduct a hospital vulnerability assessment, establish incident command systems, enact decontamination processes and use protective equipment properly.
Attendees can receive 6.74 contact hours for the workshop. The American Nurses Association Center for Continuing Education and Professional Development, which is offering the training, is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
The event is free, but seating is limited. To register, contact Holly Carpenter with the American Nurses Association at 301-628-5105 or holly.carpenter@ana.org. For more information, call the Texas Nurses Association at 512-452-0645 ext. 3 or e-mail cne@texasnurses.org.
For more information on the UHV School of Nursing, visit www.uhv.edu/nursing.
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
