LVHN boosts education programs with new investments

Leadership training is a top priority for Dr. Robert Barraco when it comes to educating physicians. 

The chief academic officer and trauma surgeon for Lehigh Valley Health Network, said education that includes leadership training in health systems and value-based patient care creates better providers.  

“We provide the most leadership training outside of the military,” he said. 

The training is part of LVHN’s medical school partnership with the University of South Florida in Tampa which just graduated its 8th class of 56 physicians.  

To accommodate that program and others, LVHN is expanding its medical education program which includes expanding the Graduate Medical Education offering for physicians who have completed their degrees and are training for specialties, building residencies at LVHN-Pocono and LVHN Schuylkill, and nursing program expansions. 

LVHN recently bought the Venel Center, an anatomical research and educational facility in Bethlehem that will allow current physicians, residents and fellows to learn new procedures on cadavers. 

And a new educational building, The Center for Healthcare Education in Center Valley, will provide space under one roof for medical training. The first classes will be Feb. 6. 

“This is a move toward national recognition of our medical programs,” Barraco said. “We need to rebuild our research and educational offerings.  The heart of our program is a strong clinical engine, but we need research and education to support this.”  

Cindy Cappel, vice president for education at LVHN said the Center for Healthcare Education will provide education for existing employees, specialty programs and simulation for teams.  

“We need to provide increased quality of care,” Cappel said, and the new 70,000-square-foot center will provide space to do that. 

In addition to classrooms and computer labs, the center has several small bays for anatomical simulations, she said. It also has 12 outpatient and three inpatient simulation rooms.  

The expanded program goes beyond just physician and nurse training, the two said. The health care system needs all types of caregivers. “This will provide education for all our learners,” Cappel said. 

Those include physical therapists, medical technicians, medical assistants and more. 

The expanded programs will help offset the shortage of nurses all health care systems are experiencing now. Cappel said while the pandemic led a large number of nurses to leave the field, the shortage has been around for some time as the Baby Boom generation is retiring or preparing to retire.  

“This has created vacancies everywhere and the new center will help us fill those needs,” she said. 

In addition, LVHN is partnering with other schools in the region to provide training it may currently not offer. Cappel said those partnerships will bring needed providers to the area. 

The new center also offers programs to high school and college students looking to explore careers in health care. Cappel said those programs are offered at both Venel and Center Valley facility. 

“There are many careers in health care. There are roles where you help the doctors and nurses. There are surgical technicians where schooling is not as technical or long,” Barraco said. “It takes a village.” 

Barraco said, too, that there are a variety of positions outside the patient care realm, like working in information technology, record keeping and registration. “Many kids don’t understand that so the center will allow us to introduce them to the possibilities,” he said. 

“A lot of our programs offer scholarships that obligate the student to LVHN for a certain amount of time,” Barraco said. “Once an employee, scholarships are available for continued education so people can grow their careers.” 

As for growing the physician and nursing population, Barraco said LVHN offers clinical rotations for other schools as well. “We know that if they experience us, they will want to stay.”