Dee Wilson, Donna Soldner, Ragini Shah and Kata Fountain were recognized for their outstanding contributions to Lone Star College-CyFair College with Staff Excellence Awards.
Shah is a founding staff member of the college and the Business Specialist III
for LSC-Fairbanks Center since 2002. Working at the Barker Cypress location are
Wilson, who began as a student services specialist III in 2006 and is currently
division coordinator for student services; Soldner, who is division coordinator
for arts and communication since 2008; and Fountain, who began working with
GREAT grants in 2005, then in corporate training and currently as program
coordinator for educational programs and organizational development. They were
among those recognized at a system-wide awards event in February.
Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center Hospital is investing in the education of its nurses to provide a higher standard of care
for the community. The hospital is the first in Houston to offer the Versant RN
Residency, a comprehensive training program. Designed by nurses for nurses, the
Versant RN Residency prepares newly graduated nurses by organizing and
overseeing all aspects of their hospital experience. A network of senior nurses
acts as preceptors, mentors and debriefers.
Cyndie Salmons, director of staff development and the residency program manager, says, “The RN Residency is a win-win concept benefiting every member of the hospital
community
—our patients, nurses, ancillary staff, administrators and physicians.” The first class begins in February. For more information, go to www.cyfairhospital.com/versant.
North Cypress Medical Center opened the North Cypress Epilepsy Monitoring Unit. It is a first for the
community and surrounding area with a dedicated unit that is staffed 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week by specially trained nurses and technical personnel. The
unit serves both adult and pediatric patients of all ages.
The North Cypress EMU uses 24 hour state-of-the-art Electroencephalogram (EEG)
monitoring equipment to help diagnose, evaluate and treat those suffering from
seizure disorders and those being evaluated for seizure surgery.
“One of the great things about our EMU is the AirEEG Wireless System. It allows
patients to be able to leave their room and move freely about the unit while
continuing to be monitored by the nursing staff and technicians. In the past,
patients had to remain in their rooms hooked up to monitoring equipment during
stays that could last up to five days,
” said Tina Heddens, EMU clinical coordinator.
CenterPoint Energy SCORE (Schools Conserving Resources) Program representatives presented Cy-Fair ISD with an incentive check for $121,217.55 for incorporating energy-efficient
lighting, heating and cooling equipment into several facilities.
Incentives from the SCORE Program are determined by the total amount of energy
saved. The efficient lighting design and high efficiency chiller selection
installed at three new schools and the replacement of less efficient chillers
during renovations of existing facilities will save more than 1.3 million
kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, compared to standard equipment. This is
equivalent to eliminating the annual gas emissions of about 184 passenger
vehicles, according to Environmental Protection Agency calculations.
“This aspect of the program is vital because it guarantees that the financial
decision makers understand the long-term advantages of utilizing the equipment
and therefore can justify investing in energy efficiency upgrades,
” said Claude Yoas, Cy-Fair ISD director of facilities planning and energy management.
Donna Draudt, executive vice president of Woodforest National Bank, has been named to the governing board of Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center Hospital.
