BURLINGTON, Vt.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Champlain College Online, one of the nation’s most innovative nonprofit colleges, today announced that Rutland Regional Medical Center—the second largest hospital in Vermont—has joined Champlain’s truED Alliance Program. Based on this partnership, Rutland Regional’s team of 1,600 staff members will have affordable access to over 60 degree and certificate programs offered by the regionally accredited online college, so they can advance their knowledge and skill sets, and ultimately better serve their community.
“Champlain’s partnership with Rutland Regional is a win-win for both organizations,” said Melissa Marcello, executive director of Champlain College Online. “Because of our truED Alliances with several regional healthcare providers in New England, Rutland Regional’s adult learners will benefit from the online and offline sharing of knowledge, experiences and lessons learned with peers. Meanwhile, Champlain will have line of sight into the professional development needs of regional healthcare providers, helping to ensure that our programs stay relevant and make a difference close to home,” she added.
Among the online degree and certificate programs offered by Champlain College Online are bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees and graduate certificates in healthcare administration; a master’s degree in executive leadership; and a master’s degree in business administration embedded with a certificate in health care administration. The courses are taught by industry practitioners who keep classes small to maximize personal attention, emphasize critical thinking and problem solving over textbook learning, and work closely with students and their academic and career advisors to ensure they successfully complete their studies in alignment with their career goals.
One new Rutland Regional student who will begin her master’s in health administration degree in January 2018 is Priscilla Latkin, the medical center’s manager of training and education.
“As a Magnet®-designated hospital for quality patient care, nursing excellence and innovation, we strive to provide our employees with continuing education opportunities that offer tuition reimbursement and flexibility,” said Latkin. “The great thing about Champlain College Online is that they pre-assess prospective adult learners’ preparedness for returning to school and offer the convenient online study option. We are grateful that Champlain sees the importance of partnering with healthcare institutions like ours, which are held to a particularly high standard for our knowledge and skill sets,” she added.
Through its truED Alliance Program, Champlain works closely with more than 70 public sector, nonprofit and private sector organizations to address their workforce challenges. Champlain students acquire new, career-focused skills and knowledge through accelerated online classes, highly relevant and applicable coursework, immersive labs and engaging discussions.
About Rutland Regional Medical Center
Rutland Regional was honored as the “Best Regional Hospital” by U.S. News & World Report for 2017-2018, as “high performing” in four procedures and conditions -Heart Failure, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Hip Replacement, and Knee Replacement, and also recognized in US News & World Report as one of America’s Best Hospitals to receive common care. They were the first hospital in Vermont to receive both the Governor’s Award for Performance Excellence and Magnet Recognition® for quality patient care, nursing excellence and innovation. In 2016 and 2017, Rutland Regional Medical Center was the recipient of Healthcare’s Most Wired® award for the exceptional way the hospital uses technology. RRMC was honored with an “A” grade in patient safety by The Leapfrog Group in the fall of 2016, spring of 2017, and fall of 2017, and named by Healthgrades in 2015, among the top 10% in the Nation for Outstanding Patient Experience and Patient Safety. They were also recognized for an eighth year (2011-2018) as a recipient of the Healthgrades 5-Star Recipient for Total Knee Replacement, a second year as a 5-Star Recipient for Gallbladder Removal Surgery (2017-2018), and our first year (2018) as 5-Star Recipient for Treatment of COPD.
About Champlain College Online
At the forefront of one of the most innovative, regionally accredited, not-for-profit colleges in the nation, Champlain College Online prides itself on its long history of providing career-focused education to adult learners. One of the oldest online institutions in the United States, Champlain College Online was established in 1993 by Champlain College, a non-profit private college founded in 1878 and offering a campus undergraduate experience in Burlington, Vermont.
Today, Champlain College Online is consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report as a leader in online higher education and serves nearly 3,400 students through more than 60 online undergraduate and graduate degree programs and certificates in high-growth fields like cybersecurity, healthcare administration and human resource management. Through the strategic alliance program known as truED, Champlain College Online has pioneered a bold reimagining of workforce development to create additional opportunities for adults to further their education in Champlain College's award-winning online academic programs aligned to needs in government and industry.
For more information, visit Champlain.edu/online.
