Bert's Alerts - January 8, 2016
CWI in the News
Otter picks Ronk as Commerce Chief - Idaho Statesman
Emergency crews train for active shooter situation at CWI campus - KIVI
Preserving Melba Petroglyphs by Putting Them Online - Boise State Public Radio
News Highlights
Grant Expands Medical Learning Opportunities in Valley County
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) received a grant to purchase medical equipment for Emergency Medical Response (EMR) and Nurse Assistant (NA) courses offered through community outreach programs at McCall-Donnelly High School.
The CWI Foundation was awarded $2,000 from the Perc H. Shelton and Gladys A. Pospisil Shelton Foundation; an advised fund through the Idaho Community Foundation. The grant supports the expansion of medical learning opportunities for both adult and high school students in Valley County. The College used the funds to buy equipment and materials for Certified Nurse Assistant and CPR courses including a new airway manikin.
“I can show students training videos all day long,” said Graham Pinard, the EMR instructor at McCall-Donnelly High School. “But until they get their hands on life-like learning tools, it doesn’t mean very much.”
Pinard is the lead instructor for the high school’s EMR program. A fire department volunteer, he brings 20 years of experience as an advanced emergency medical technician to teach students how to save lives. Pinard’s class of eight students are using the new manikin to feel a life-like pulse, practice opening a life-like airway, and perform other critical procedures associated with the profession.
Through the partnership with CWI, students at McCall-Donnelly High School are trained to be career or college ready; choosing from professional technical education, advanced placement courses, and/or dual credit from CWI and other institutions. When Pinard’s students graduate, they will receive a high school diploma in one hand; the ability to test for an EMR certificate in the other.
“They can go on to become EMTs and advanced EMTs,” Pinard said. “They can even become paramedics if they want to. They are getting great exposure and experience. Things like this manikin bring them a big step closer to the real thing.”
CWI partners with the community to run NA classes once or twice a year. High school and adult CWI students who live in the area and take the class online receive their hands-on skill sessions at McCall-Donnelly High School. The next class begins January 27. For more information on CWI’s Healthcare and Emergency Medical Service programs offered through outreach programs, visit cwi.edu/programs-degrees/healthcare-emergency-medical-services or contact CWI’s One Stop Student Services at 208.562.3000.
Safety Training for Active Shooter Response on CWI Campus encourages partnerships
On Wednesday, Jan. 6, multiple first responders took part in active shooter response training at the College of Western Idaho (CWI) Nampa Campus Micron Center for Professional Technical Education.
Participants numbered at over 150, which included volunteers, CWI staff, actors, police departments, fire departments, paramedic and ambulance services.
“This was an invaluable experience for our Treasure Valley Law Enforcement partners to be able to participate in a training of such caliber,” Nampa Police Chief Joe Huff noted.
The scenario was designed to elicit a multi-jurisdictional response to include all first responders who would actually be involved in an active shooter incident. The responders included officers who were there to deal with the suspected shooters, CWI security who assisted officers with layouts of the building, fire and ambulance personnel who set up triage areas and treated the wounded.
“We really want to thank the CWI staff and all our first responder partners for taking part in these efforts to keep our community prepared for what I pray we will never have to experience,” Huff said.
Participants included Nampa Police, Ada County Sherriff’s Department, Boise City Police, Canyon County Sherriff’s Department, Meridian Police, Nampa Fire, and Ada County and Canyon County Paramedics. Many volunteers as well as CWI staff and students were also on scene to take part in the experience.
“We are incredibly thankful for the opportunity to partner with the Nampa Police Department and other agencies who brought this very valuable training experience to our campus,” says Jeff Flynn, CWI’s executive director of facilities planning and management. “Exercises like this play an important role in providing continued campus safety and ensuring an appropriate response in the event of an emergency. The training exercise this week helps us evaluate our preparedness and planning for future training. We look forward to continued opportunities for our campus community in the coming year.”
The group is expecting to meet within a week to discuss details of the event to highlight training points.
Bookstore Offers Back to School Sale
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Bookstore is celebrating the start of the spring semester with a Back to School Sale. Now through Jan. 22, all apparel at the Bookstore is 25 percent off. The offer is only valid in store. Visit cwi.edu/bookstore for location details and hours of operation.
Employee Calendar Launched on myCWI
College of Western Idaho (CWI) has introduced a new employee calendar on the myCWI home page. The calendar is a feed from the 25Live scheduling system, which also feeds the event calendar for CWI’s external website. To add an event to the employee calendar, simply check the “employee related event” box while scheduling the event in 25Live. With the addition of the calendar, the employee phone directory link on myCWI can now be found below the calendar under “Important Links”.
We hope this will be a great tool for employees to utilize and reference. Be sure to check it out.
Holiday Coloring Contest Winners Named
The results are in for College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) 2015 holiday coloring contest. The Culture and Employee Engagement Committee (CEEC) would like to thank all the participants that helped make the contest a great success. Of all the entries, six rose to the top.
Congratulations to the following winners:
Maia Kelley – Nampa Campus Academic Building
Courtney Smith – Nampa Campus Administration Building
Shannon Pape – Nampa Campus Multipurpose Building
Angela Parker – Canyon County Center
Tessa Calip – Micron Center for Professional Technical Education
Erin Peterson – Ada County Campus
To view all entries, please visit the Culture and Employee Engagement Committee site on myCWI.
The CEEC would like to encourage employees to watch for more chances to enter upcoming contests.
HR Updates
Employment Opportunities
Human Resources has announced new job postings at CWI this week, which are listed below. Employees can access internal job postings by visiting cwinternal.silkroad.com/ or view all external listings on cwijobs.silkroad.com. Jobs are posted as they open throughout the week.
January 3-9
Administrative Assistant II
Part-time Basic Skills Education/Adult Basic Education Teacher--Language Arts
Compensation Analyst
Note: This is the official communication newsletter for the College. Content is driven by contributions gathered from all areas of CWI. If you have news you would like to submit for this, please use a Marketing Help Desk ticket.