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For immediate release:  Nov. 1, 2007

HRMC donates IV infusion pumps to HCC nursing program

Haywood Regional Medical Center donated two refurbished intravenous infusion pumps to the nursing program at Haywood Community College Wednesday.

“This is the same equipment they would use at a hospital, so students will be using the same cards to calibrate the pumps, the buttons will be the same, and students will be able to see the actual read-outs on the machine,” said Wendy Hines, nursing program director. “Many times, we are not able to purchase the same kind of equipment,” she said.

The IV infusion pumps disperse prescribed fluids and medications to a patient at a controlled rate.

The donated pumps are the result of a persistent student, Michael Rice, whose father, David Rice, just happens to be the president of Haywood Regional Medical Center.

“Michael came to me one day and said the HCC program’s infusion pumps no longer were operational. He asked if the hospital had any old pumps that were no longer being used. I checked around and there were no pumps that were not being used,” David Rice said.

He discussed the need with a purchasing agent at one of the hospital’s suppliers, Med One Medical Supply, who passed along the request to Med One. The supplier agreed to donate two refurbished IV infusion pumps at no cost to the hospital or the community college.

“Our desire at Haywood Regional Medical Center is to work closely with the college, particularly in the health sciences area, to assure that those programs remain in operation,” David Rice said. “There are usually a high number of students from the HCC program who pass the state board exam. We are proud of that and want to see that kind of success continue.”

“It’s important that the person responsible for the IV infusion pump gets the rate set correctly. It is a huge advantage to have these IV units,” said Michael Rice, who is studying for his license to be a registered nurse. “This will give us the experience we need to know how to calibrate the pumps and will allow students to have hands-on experience before stepping into a patient’s room.”

There are 110 students in the nursing consortium at HCC, which includes students from Haywood Community College, Southwestern Community College and Tri-County Community College.

“Equipment for the nursing program is quite expensive,” said HCC President Rose Johnson. “This donation is a tremendous asset for that program.”

Rose Johnson, president of Haywood Community College, left, accepts two IV units from David Rice, president of Haywood Regional Medical Center, far right. The units will be a great help to nursing students, including Michael Rice, third from left, said nursing program director Wendy Hines, second from left.