PLAINVILLE – Over 130 Rooks County Health Center employees and nearly 20 county police, fire and EMS personnel participated in the 2016 RCH Competency Fair last month.

The fair is an annual day-long event where RCH staff review and show proficiency in various department specialties. It is also designed to help refresh skills on some jobs that may occur infrequently.

Speaking about the success of the training, Pam Harmon, Director of Nursing at RCH said, “Thanks to everyone that helped make this such a huge success. Thanks to all the employees that made the sacrifice of staying after their shift to complete their assigned competency trainings as well as those who came in during the day who had to work a shift that night.  We really appreciate all of our staff who make RCH such a huge success. This type of dedication is what keeps our hospital growing and patients coming back.”

This 3rd annual competency fair included new programs reflecting the addition of the new on-site MRI unit which is expected to go live in December. The fair was expanded to include fire, law enforcement and EMS personnel who were trained on how to respond to an incident in the MRI suite, the type of equipment that must be removed when entering the MRI area and when it would be safe to proceed.

“The safety of RCH employees and community service personnel are a top priority” stated Mike Sinclair, RCH CEO said. “We were very pleased with the turnout and response and will be offering more training as the time to go live on the MRI gets closer. We are excited and grateful to be able to include the county emergency responders in our training because these are the men and women who will help safeguard our building and equipment.”