Cami Gardetto has worked in health care since she graduated from high school, first as a hospice CNA and then as a medical assistant in a specialty outpatient clinic caring for OB/GYN, cardiology and pain management patients. She liked helping people. She liked caring for others.

But it wasn’t until Gardetto did her first- and second-semester clinicals at Memorial Regional Health as a Colorado Northwestern Community College nursing student that she knew she’d found the right fit.

“After getting my feet wet at MRH, I found I loved hospital nursing,” Gardetto said. “That was where I wanted to be. I could provide more personal attention to patients. I like bedside care.”

Gardetto earned her Associate Degree in Nursing in the spring of 2022, passed her licensure exam, and came on board as a full-time MRH hospital nurse in August of 2022. She was one of 10 nurses hired at the same time to fill openings in the Med-Surg unit and the Emergency Department.

“We had some staff turnover during COVID,” said Sarah Moore, an RN and Emergency Department Manager as well as Staff Education Coordinator and Trauma Nurse Coordinator. “So we ended up hiring a large group of new nursing grads, mostly from CNCC and a program for Craig residents through Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction. All of them completed student rotations at MRH. Now they make up about half of our staff in these departments.”

Training New Nurses

To help orient the newcomers and ensure they got all their needed certifications as soon as possible, Moore and her team created a new nursing graduate training program.

During their first five months as MRH staff, the new nurses were stepped through a series of education and skills classes. They rotated through various MRH departments, and they attended stroke and burn classes taught by nurse educators who visited Craig from Swedish Medical Center in Denver. New grads were also paired one-on-one with a seasoned nurse preceptor for three months.

“Our experienced staff dedicated a lot of time and demonstrated commitment to training our new nurses,” Moore said. “The new nurses are really doing fantastic. They have an amazing drive for learning.”

Building Career Competency and Satisfaction

Gardetto is grateful for the extra support. “I don’t have the words to say how much I appreciate the time and effort the MRH staff put into the new grad program,” she said. “It helped expand my knowledge and build my confidence. They helped shape us into what productive and teamworking nurses should be.”

She also wants to give a shout-out to MRH. “They truly care about our education and the people we serve as new graduates,” Gardetto said. “They want the best quality care for this community.”

Soon Gardetto will complete her Bachelor of Science in Nursing, which she’s been working on concurrently online through the University of Phoenix. After that, she plans to pursue her Master’s in Nursing. “The way my mind works, I want to be constantly busy,” she said. “And continuing my education will help me better serve my community.”

“Ideally we want nurses to train and stay here,” Moore said. “So while they’re here, we want them to shine. We want to help educate and train them so they want to continue their employment with MRH.”

In 2023, Moore and Megan O’Toole, an RN who’s now assisting Moore in her various roles, plan to expand all MRH staff education. “We know that training our own staff to help them advance their knowledge and careers will raise their job satisfaction and help keep them in our community,” Moore said.

Financial Support for Medical Education

In the fall of 2022, a State of Colorado program called Care Forward Colorado was launched to help the state rebuild its depleted healthcare workforce. The program fully covers tuition, fees and course materials at a number of Colorado community colleges for short-term healthcare training programs, for roles such as:

• CNAs
• EMTs
• Phlebotomy Technicians
• Medical Assistants
• Medical Billing and Coding

and more!

Go here for details and a complete list of educational programs supported by Care Forward Colorado.

In addition, MRH employees receive an annual educational stipend equal to 1.5% of their pay. MRH also reimburses employees who successfully complete a Medical Assistant course and commit to MRH employment.