“I did all my service learning hours at the Community Blood Center. This was a great experience for me as I learned quite a bit on phlebotomy, taking temperatures, explaining paperwork, and talking to patients. I also learned about watching for reactions as I helped a patient get a snack and/or drink after giving blood. These will all help me with my practicum site in so many ways.”

This experience has given me tips on how to perform skills and get me out of my comfort zone when talking or explaining to someone about something. I am now more comfortable with taking temperatures and feel more confident as I learn venipuncture. Everyone in the blood drive was very nice and helpful when I needed assistance. This experience has also helped me get ready for practicum because I have to be patient with people and that sometimes I have to be up early to make it on time for the event! My goals for practicum are to be the best I can be by being myself and giving the best care possible. I feel better after having service learning hours because I am now more confident and ready for Medical Assistant practicum to start.” Allexis Wegner, MPTC Medical Assistant Student

“Your students have been wonderful, thank YOU!”

Heather Du Vall, MNM |  Manager, Volunteer Program
4406 W. Spencer St.  |  Appleton, WI 54914
(800) 280-4102

Congratulations Allexis on your Fall 2020, Bronze and Silver Student Community Impact Awards!

Dodge County Public Health and Beaver Dam Moraine Park Technical College Nursing Students partnered up again this year to deliver vaccines to children in Dodge County. Last year the flu vaccine clinical occurred at Dodgeland School. However, this year, thanks to the pandemic the vaccine clinic looked a little different.  This was a first for Dodge County Public Health to offer the flu vaccine via a drive thru.

Over a four day schedule, approximately 213 flu vaccines were administered at the first ever drive thru clinic. According to Lina Rooney – Dodge County Public Health Nurse, “There is no possible way this could have happened without the MPTC staff & students. Through driving wind, rain, & chilly late afternoon temps, MPTC students soldiered on.  They established an efficient flow of assembling & handling syringes, supplies, & paperwork so everything went smoothly. They cheerfully greeted families, calmed anxious kids, and safely administered flu shots. We can’t forget their stellar traffic control skills, either; only one cone was run over! 

According to one of the students, “It was a great experience for us nursing students as we are growing into the role of becoming nurses. The exposure to working with children is priceless as typically that is an area where nursing students may have a fear of how to interact and communicate with them effectively. Essentially we ran the operation this year and all of us nursing students whether we are in our first semester or fourth semester all worked really well together which resulted in a really successful flu shot clinic for the K-12 children within our community.”

 – Kass Haima 4^th Semester Nursing Student

Overall, it was an amazing opportunity for the Beaver Dam MPTC students to give back to the community and formulate a partnership with Dodge County Public Health. We will continue to forge partnerships within the local communities that foster healthy outcomes. There was a sense of pride, collaboration, and passion that was witnessed among students, faculty, and Dodge County Public Health staff. To watch future nurses work with the community was the greatest reward of all!

“ASTOP has been an amazing organization to volunteer for my service learning project. They are very flexible and do not require a certain amount of hours. I really like that I am able to do the crisis line from home. My favorite part of this volunteer opportunity was the training. The training was about 9 hours in total. I learned so much about sexual assault. It was also really interesting learning about different kinds of grounding exercises. These are very important to use during a crisis call. Grounding exercises really help a person in crisis calm down.”

“Another area that I was trained in was patient advocacy. When learning about patient advocacy I learned a lot about what happens at the hospital for a sexual assault victim.  I think this volunteer opportunity will greatly benefit me as a future medical assistant. It has taught me how to speak to assault victims. It has also taught me even more about confidentiality. ASTOPS confidentiality is actually even more strict than HIPAA, which I found very interesting. I now know a lot more about sexual abuse and how to talk to victims. I also now have a resource that I can offer to patients if they are a victim of sexual abuse. I plan to continue to volunteer for ASTOP for a very long time. I think they are an amazing organization and a great benefit to the FDL community.”  Courtney Dickow, MPTC Medical Assistant Student

“Courtney, thank you for all that you do for ASTOP. We would not be able to maintain a 24-hour advocacy and crisis line response without volunteers like you. It’s reassuring to hear how your volunteer training has helped prepare you for your chosen career field. We appreciate you!” Nicole Krause, Executive Director, ASTOP, Inc.

Office 920.926.5396

Crisis Line 920.926.5395

21 S. Marr St., Fond du Lac, WI 54935

Congratulations Courtney on your Fall, 2020 Bronze and Silver Student Community Impact Awards!

Moraine Park Technical College has presented Agnesian Healthcare with its 2020 Community Partnership Award. This award recognizes a community partner organization who has gone above and beyond in their role of working with Moraine Park students in student community impact opportunities.

Agnesian Healthcare is committed to helping, healing, and comforting, with a deep compassion for the community. Moraine Park health sciences students are important members of the Agnesian team! In 2020, despite Covid restrictions, MPTC volunteers served over 550 hours! Students served at Agnesian sites of: St. Agnes Hospital, Ripon Medical Center, Hospice Home of Hope, Fond du Lac Regional Clinic, and Waupun Memorial Hospital.

Some student words of reflection include:

“I had the opportunity to volunteer in the Emergency Department at St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du Lac. I absolutely loved my time there.”

“I went to the volunteer at Waupun Dialysis. The lady that trained me was very nice and helpful. While talking with a patient, we discovered that blindness was a big challenge. The Agnesian employee is also part of the Lions Club of Waupun. She found a machine that blows everything up and can make it brighter or duller depending on the patients eyes. The patient was able to receive the machine for free from the Lions. The patient was so happy and broke down in tears! I was in tears too, because until now I took seeing for granted.”

“I really enjoyed working with the other volunteers and hearing their stories as most of them have been there for a very long time, some even with previous work experience as nurses in the ER years ago. Barb with volunteer services was also fantastic, she is so easy to talk to! I am hoping to continue volunteering for Agnesian in the future.”

“I had the incredible opportunity to volunteer with Agnesian Hospice. This has been a very humbling experience. It has provided me with insight and knowledge in what it takes to work with people who are close to death. I realized the most vital part of my experience was not mulling over death, but maintaining social relationships that brightened a patients day no matter what the circumstance. I found that just the fact that patients recognized me, even if it was just my voice in the last one or two visits, was amazing. I would find myself forgetting that the patients were at the end of life and just focus on the time we could spend together every week. I think this opportunity was a very valuable experience. I plan on volunteering with Hospice indefinitely. This experience has actually made me consider furthering my career and eventually being a nurse in hospice.”

Barb Van Egtern, Agnesian Volunteer Services Supervisor said, “Thank you very much!  We love working with your students and hope to continue partnering with you!  We are truly honored.”

Congratulations Agnesian and thank you to all amazing healthcare students, instructors and workers!

MPTC is pleased to announce we have 2 national scholarship winners!

Jennifer Hakala, Accounting and Kristin Unser, Nursing, are two of 207 Phi Theta Kappa members named across the USA, as 2020 Coca-Cola Leaders of Promise Scholars. Each will receive a $1,000 scholarship.

The Coca-Cola Leaders Program helps new Phi Theta Kappa members defray educational expenses while enrolled in associate degree programs. Scholars are encouraged to assume leadership roles by participating in Society programs and are selected based on scholastic achievement, community service, and leadership potential. Nearly 700 applications were received.

A total of $207,000 is awarded through the Leaders of Promise Scholarship Program. The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation provides $200,000 in funding for the scholarships, with $25,000 set aside for members who are veterans or active members of the United States military. The remaining amount is supported by donations to the Phi Theta Kappa Foundation and provides seven Global Leaders of Promise Scholarships, earmarked for international students.

“The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation has a long history of providing financial assistance to outstanding students at community colleges,” said Jane Hale Hopkins, President of the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation. “We are proud to partner with Phi Theta Kappa to make it possible for more deserving students to achieve their educational goals and support tomorrow’s leaders of the global community.”

The funds provided by the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation not only aid college completion, but also give students the opportunity to engage in Society programs and develop leadership skills to become future leaders in their communities.

“Research shows that Phi Theta Kappa members are four times more likely to complete a college degree than their peers,” said Dr. Monica Marlowe, Executive Director of the Phi Theta Kappa Foundation. “The Leaders of Promise Scholarships recognize students for what they have achieved already and assure that financial need isn’t an obstacle to achieving their academic goals.”

Phi Theta Kappa is the premier honor society recognizing the academic achievement of students at associate degree-granting colleges and helping them to grow as scholars and leaders. The Society is made up of more than 3.5 million members and nearly 1,300 chapters in 11 nations, with approximately 240,000 active members in the nation’s colleges.

To find out more about PTK at MPTC contact Anne Lemke, Student Community Impact Coordinator at alemke2@morainepark.edu or Amy Harmsen, Business Instructor at aharmsen@morainepark.edu

Join our Beta Mu Kappa facebook page today!

Moraine Park Technical College’s nursing program is working to help students adapt to the increased utilization of telehealth technology. The Wisconsin Technical College System identified this need in 2013 and approved a grant to help implement this learning into the curriculum.

Today, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought forward the importance of offering patient care remotely, and Moraine Park continues to utilize this vital technology. To aid in these efforts, Moraine Park partnered with GrandCare, a provider of telehealth systems, in 2013.

The College’s partnership with GrandCare is coming to an end this year. However, GrandCare made a generous contribution to aid telehealth education for both present and future students. The original grant afforded the College the usage of GrandCare’s telehealth unit, and this last fall, GrandCare donated the unit to Moraine Park, allowing students the opportunity to continue to interact with the equipment.

“We are grateful to GrandCare for their partnership,” Kelly Shafaie, Associate Dean of Nursing at Moraine Park, said. “They have been a vital part of our telehealth teachings, and our faculty and students will benefit from their generosity for years to come.”

For more information on Moraine Park’s nursing program, visit morainepark.edu/nursing.

Moraine Park Technical College is committed to community engagement and student success.  The College supports these commitments through the opportunity for students to participate in student community impact and apply their classroom knowledge to an applicable, real world environment. 

MPTC encourages students to participate in our community impact awards program where students can track their service learning or volunteer hours, submit their reflections, and earn a Bronze Award for 25 hours, Silver Award for 50 hours, Gold Award for 100 hours, or Presidents Award for 200 hours!

In the 2020 spring semester, 24 students earned awards and logged over 1,000 hours of service!

Congratulations to our Spring, 2020 award winners!

Bronze Award Winners

Completing 25-49 hours of service learning or volunteering.

• Ashley Ade, Medical Assistant
• Breanna Alioto, Medical Assistant
• Erica Boehnlein, Medical Assistant
• Alexis Darkow, Medical Assistant
• Kendra DeJager, Medical Assistant
• Molly Donais, Medical Assistant
• Taylor Erlauer, Medical Assistant
• Kayleigh Gorman, Medical Assistant
• Cortland Henning, Culinary Arts*
• Ashlee Keller, Medical Assistant
• Cheyenne Kohrt, Medical Assistant
• Cathryn Kuslits, Medical Assistant*
• Abby Muenchow, Medical Assistant
• Megan Neu, Medical Assistant
• Nora Nuhiji, Medical Assistant
• Caitlin Pieper, Medical Assistant
• Gina Roll, Medical Assistant
• Samantha Schubring, Medical Assistant    
• Jordan Sterns, Medical Assistant
• Bethany Thome, Graphics*
• Meghan Thompson, Medical Assistant
• Emma Zimmerman, Medical Office 

Silver Award Winners

Completing 50-99 hours of service learning or volunteering.

• Meghan Griswold, Marketing & Social Media*
• Cortland Henning, Culinary Arts*
• Ashlee Keller, Medical Assistant
• Jordan Sterns, Medical Assistant

Gold Award Winner

Completing 100-199 hours of service learning or volunteering.

• Cortland Henning, Culinary Arts*

President’s Award Winner

Completing 200+ hours of service learning or volunteering.

• Brett Hebert, Criminal Justice*

*Promise Scholar students

What happens when you are required to do 40 hours of service learning to complete your practicum course and your college and community are locked down for Covid? You get creative! That is just what MPTC Medical Office student Emma Zimmerman did this spring. Emma looked on the MPTC online volunteer system to see what safe volunteer from home opportunities there might be. She found creating cards for seniors at the Cedar Community and Gardens of Hartford through the Washington County Volunteers posting and got started on her project!

Emma reflected, “MPTC has offered me the ability to give back to the community for the experiences I have gained through going to college. However, due to COVID-19, my community service is different from what others have experienced face to face. Nonetheless, it has enhanced both my career and the care I have for the communities I’m around.”

“For my service learning, I wrote cards for the Cedar Community in West Bend and became a part of the Pen Pal program for The Gardens of Hartford. Each card had a unique quote and message from me personally. I also included adorable stickers and drawings. Because of this, I believe I provided a therapeutic effect on the community. Due to COVID-19, many seniors are separated from their family and friends. Their loneliness can negatively effect their health and can cause a pessimistic view on their life and the current situation.”

By writing inspirational messages to the seniors of the Cedar Community and The Gardens of Hartford, I was able to provide much needed happiness for those in need. While I might not have cured their loneliness, I hopefully gave someone a smile or reminded them that they are not alone. My community service may not have been the most exciting. However, I believe I provided an important service by interacting with people who may have needed it the most. I believe it strengthened my communication abilities and allowed me to impact the community in a way I was unable to before.”

Emma is planning to complete her practicum this spring and graduate to go out to work in her community as a Medical Office Specialist. She has also earned the Bronze Student Community Impact Award for serving 25-49 hours. Way to go Emma!

morainepark.edu

Second semester nursing students in Beaver Dam are working hard to learn how to assess and care for a laboring mother. At the whiteboard they are outlining details of each stage of labor. On the torso model the student is practicing fundal massage which prevents severe bleeding after birth. There is also a model of a placenta sitting next to the torso so the student can visualize the actual size of the wound left in the uterus after birth and truly understand the risk of bleeding to the woman if the uterus does not contract down. Practicing information, doing hands-on skills and connecting rationales with nursing actions helps nursing students solidify their knowledge and develop competency.

morainepark.edu