Patient Care Assistant Externship A Hand Up
Every summer, the Patient Care Assistant( PCA) Externship program offers 20 academically successful but at-risk high school seniors the opportunity to explore a professional career they might otherwise never consider. The annual, eight-week, 40-hour-per-week curriculum teaches these students basic patient care skills. They receive a stipend equal to the entry-level salary of an employed PCA and work directly with experienced PCA mentors under the direction of nurse managers. After completing their training, qualified graduates are offered part-time or full-time employment as PCAs. Over its 15-year history and in collaboration with Communities in Schools, more than 200 students have participated in the program, with most going on to pursue a college degree degree in a medical-related field. Donations from the Land Tejas Companies, The Hamill Foundation, George & Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation, and the Charles H. Stout Foundation make this program possible.
Project ECHO Bridging the Gap
Isolated and underserved. This has been the reality for most low-income, urban, and rural patients suffering from chronic conditions. Now, thanks to our telehealth network, Project ECHO, chronic disease specialists at Baylor St. Luke’ s are connecting with and mentoring the doctors in rural and underserved areas who care for these patients to improve quality of care.
Project ECHO connects a supportive medical network to bridge gaps in treatment of patients in outlying areas. Using computer video-conferencing, doctors collaborate face-to-face electronically to combine the local provider’ s knowledge of the patient’ s medical history with the expertise of the field’ s leading specialists to best handle the most complex cases.
By helping caregivers provide specialized treatment in their own communities, Project ECHO ensures that patients receive the care they need without costly travel expenses while also expanding the knowledge base of physicians in rural areas.
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In 2015, Project ECHO served 253 chronically ill patients, sparing them an estimated 3,000 miles in cost-prohibitive and exhausting travel expenses. Plans are underway to begin construction on a second video conference suite in early 2017 to support the expansion of the following Project ECHO programs:
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