“We’ve been very fortunate and blessed to be in partnership with them, and to take advantage of some of those grant opportunities that they have in upskilling our workforce,” she says. “The Workforce Commission received one of the largest grants that they’ve ever received. It was over $2 million, and we were part of that initiative, along with Odessa College and other higher-level educational institutions.” Ward Memorial helped design the program and continues to guide its implementation. “We were involved from the beginning to structure it,” Rodriguez conveys. “Through our own experience, we shared ideas on how to implement a program that not only involved upskilling the office and clinical teams, but also leadership development in connection to our purpose.” LOOKING AHEAD With its renovation nearing completion, Ward Memorial Hospital is far from finished. “Our next project is building a new clinic,” Rodriguez discloses. “We’ve got two rural health clinics. One of them is an old building, and we’ve outgrown it. We try to be creative in maximizing more space for office and patient rooms, but we are at full capacity.” The plan calls for constructing a larger facility that will house the full team of practitioners, while the existing second clinic will transition into a dedicated specialty care center. Additional priorities include expanding inpatient services to include telecardiology, tele-neurology, launching tele-nocturnist coverage, recruiting new family practice physicians, and continuing to grow specialty offerings. “We start with a foundation and keep building and capitalizing on those needs that we’ve identified in the community,” Rodriguez emphasizes, reflecting Ward Memorial Hospital’s commitment to highquality healthcare that puts patients first. 67 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 13, ISSUE 02 WARD MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
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