10/13/2009

Centinela Hospital Medical Center Welcomes 160 New Employees

Inglewood, CA – October 13, 2009 – In the largest employee orientation ever held by the Human Resources Department, Centinela Hospital Medical Center recently welcomed 160 new employees at a daylong orientation session. 152 of these recruits were newly licensed registered nurses who will soon be reporting for duty throughout the hospital. Says Tari Williams, HR Director of the hospital, “This is the largest group of new employees that we’ve sent through orientation in quite some time. We had to hold the event at an offsite location because we didn’t have a room big enough to hold everyone at the hospital.”

Hospital HR staff has been busy this year searching local employment fairs and visiting nursing schools to recruit a total of 300 new positions required at the hospital. With this latest group, the hospital has completed filling most open positions and brings total employment at the Inglewood location to 1,500. This ranks Centinela Hospital Medical Center as one of the largest employers in the City of Inglewood. Continues Ms. Williams, “Since the purchase of Centinela Hospital by Prime Healthcare Services in 2007, the number of patients being treated has increased dramatically. Our new employees will be used to provide care in clinical areas such as the Emergency Department, Labor and Delivery and Cardiac Services.”

New Registered Nurses are provided with a week of classroom and  clinical orientation sessions to familiarize themselves with hospital computers, forms and policies and procedures and makes certain that their clinical skills are up to par. Once their orientation is completed, all new graduate nurses go through six additional weeks of classroom and clinical classes specific to the clinical area where they will be performing their duties. Once their orientation is completed, they will be placed with a specific clinical unit and provided a “preceptor” for the duration of their three-month probationary period. A preceptor is an experienced RN who performs the role of teacher, role model and mentor to the new employee. This arrangement allows the hospital to continue the training of the new employee and ensures that the hospital’s high standards of clinical care are maintained throughout the facility.

Centinela Hospital Medical Center

Since 1950, Centinela Hospital Medical Center has been serving the communities of Inglewood and Los Angeles. Centinela Hospital Medical Center is a 369-bed acute care hospital offering comprehensive, quality healthcare in a convenient, compassionate and cost effective manner. The hospital offers a level II emergency department, orthopedic care, advanced cardiac services, peripheral artery disease treatment and OB/GYN services in a caring and conducive environment. It is actively involved in improving the health of the community with programs designed to meet the needs of those that it serves. For more information visit www.centinelamed.com