Three Complete Cooley Dickinson VNA & Hospice Residency Program

NORTHAMPTON — On Sept. 30, the members of the first graduating class of the Cooley Dickinson VNA & Hospice Cross Continuum Clinical Residency Program received certificates at a ceremony in the healing garden at Cooley Dickinson Hospital.

Elizabeth Donnelly Caban, RN, BSN; Sarah Coonrod, RN, BSN; and Kathryn Zajkowski, OTR, are the first graduates of a new program designed to address the shortage of healthcare workers. The Cross Continuum Clinical Residency Program provides new graduates in nursing and occupational therapy with peer-to-peer mentoring and provides education to help clinicians take care of patients in hospitals, nursing homes, and at home.

The VNA-employed graduates now provide home care with a comprehensive understanding of their patients’ care experiences across the continuum, from hospital to home.

The clinical residency program is a partnership of UMass Amherst School of Nursing, Linda Manor Extended Care Facility, and Cooley Dickinson Hospital. It is funded in part through the Cooley Dickinson Nurse Development Program and the Health Care Workforce Transformation Fund Training grant.