WPCNR MARCH OF TIME. From White Plains Hospital Center (Edited). August 30, 2006: Candace Foster and Katherine Palecio of the College of New Rochelle, and Nathalie Gonzalez, Anesha Hines, Katherine Palecio, Alexandra Sarmiento and Patty Swayne of White Plains High School have completed the first class of a summer nursing program with four other area high school and college students -- the new White Plains Hospital Medical Center Nurse Apprentice Program. The nurses-to-be received Certificates of Completion for the 9-week internship and each apprentice had the opportunity to share her experiences with those in attendance, and to hear some words of praise about her work at the Hospital. Two students each received a $5,000 scholarship, to be used toward an education in nursing.
Nurses of Tomorrow: (L to R), Anesha Hines, Nathalie Gonzalez, Candace Foster, Alexandra Sarmiento, Katherine Palacio and Patty Swayne, all of White Plains, are honored for completing their Nurse Apprentice Program internship as (L to R) Mayor Joseph Delfino; Pat Keegan, District Director, Representative Nita M. Lowey’s office (D-NY 18); Timothy Connors, Superintendent of the White Plains School District; Deborah Correnti, RN, Student Liaison, Healthcare Careers, White Plains Hospital Center; Ivan Toper, Principal, White Plains High School; Annie Norris, Program Counselor, Healthcare Careers, White Plains High School; Henry Cafaro, Director of Guidance, White Plains School District, beam. Photo, Courtesy White Plains Hospital Center.
The White Plains young women completed four rotations during the summer, gaining experience in a number of clinical areas, including pediatrics, bariatrics, labor and delivery, stroke, oncology and neonatal intensive care.
The 10 students who successfully completed the program are
* Jennifer Colon, Bronx, College of Mt. St. Vincent*
- Samantha Farmer, Bronx, Binghamton University
- Candace Foster, White Plains, College of New Rochelle
- Yicele Garces, Brooklyn, SUNY Stony Brook*
- Nathalie Gonzalez, White Plains, White Plains High School
- Anesha Hines, White Plains, White Plains High School
- Katherine Palacio, White Plains, College of New Rochelle
- Alexandra Sarmiento, White Plains, White Plains High School
- Jennifer Susana, Bronx, College of Mt. St. Vincent
- Patty Swayne, White Plains, White Plains High School
“The Nurse Apprentice Program has had a huge impact on these 10 students and many others,” said Deborah Correnti, RN, Student Liaison, Healthcare Careers, White Plains Hospital Center, who, along with Annie Norris, Program Counselor, Healthcare Careers, White Plains High School, coordinated the program. “The hands-on experience of dealing with patients helps to build confidence and enables these students to have more successful work experiences. It is obvious that these apprentices not only learned about the nursing profession, they learned about the healthcare industry in general, and the ways it works today.”
The Nurse Apprentice Program was designed to actively address the shortage in the nursing profession by reaching out to area high school students and youth-oriented social services agencies, teaching interested students about pursuing a nursing career and shepherding them through the education process.
“We wanted to ensure that we have a steady stream of registered nurses at White Plains Hospital Center now and in the future,” said Jon B. Schandler, the Hospital’s President and CEO. “The Nurse Apprentice Program was the most intensive of several elements of a comprehensive plan that we have instituted to address the nursing shortage. It shows young people in our area that in order to get their help in the future, we want to help them now. Hopefully, we’ll have a cadre of nurses whose first choice of practice will be White Plains Hospital Center.”
The Nurse Apprentice Program was made possible by a $343,723 grant from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Health Resources and Services Administration, and $123,835 in program funding from WPHC. Representative Nita M. Lowey (D-NY18) was instrumental in securing the grant, which expires in November. WPHC will hold a fundraiser on September 18 to raise new financial support for the program.
White Plains CitizeNetReporter especially salutes one of the White Plains graduates: Nathalie Gonzalez, former Church Street Challenger reporter, (The Challenger is the Church Street Elementary School Newspaper). WPCNR Executive Editor John Bailey had the pleasure of working with her seven years ago when your editor had the privilege of having her as one of the Church Street Challenger "News Dogs." Congratulations, Nathalie! Photo, Courtesy, White Plains Hospital Center.
* received $5,000 Nursing Educational Award scholarship
