CSUDH News

The primary source of news and information about California State University, Dominguez Hills, its students, faculty, and staff.

Human Services

School of Nursing Cuts Ribbon on Clinical Skills Lab

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On Nov. 8, the School of Nursing (SON) at California State University, Dominguez Hills cut the ribbon on a dedicated clinical skills lab, the first such facility on the university campus in the program’s 29-year history. Construction began in 2008 to convert four classroom spaces on the lower level of the Social and Behavioral Sciences building into a 4,000-square-foot skills lab. The project was made possible with $1.6 million allocated through the CSU Chancellor’s Office system wide nursing facilities improvement fund.

L-R: President Mildred García, Carole Shea, former director, SON; and Patricia Hinchberger, Patricia Hinchberger, lecturer and director of the MEPN Program, cut the ribbon on the new state-of-the-art nursing skills lab
L-R: President Mildred García, Carole Shea, former director, SON; and Patricia Hinchberger, Patricia Hinchberger, lecturer and director of the MEPN Program, cut the ribbon on the new state-of-the-art nursing skills lab; photo by GK

“This lab will make all the difference in the world, because it will give our students enhanced tools to practice competently and safely in the clinical area,” said Dr. Rose Welch, Ed.D., RN, acting director of the School of Nursing. “I’m excited to see how the students react when they see the new lab. It will just make it worth the years that we’ve worked on this project.”

To furnish and equip the space, the school launched a Stock Our Skills Lab (SOS) campaign that year, which to-date has raised more than $130,000, including major donations from Catalina businessman Ken Putnam, who chairs the CSU Dominguez Hills Foundation Board of Directors, Associated Students Inc., and Providence Little Company of Mary Healthcare Foundation, which provided beds.

The facility features a six-bed skills lab that resembles a hospital recovery room; a two-bed simulation lab with high-tech human patient simulators (METI men) purchased through Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s California Nurse Education Initiative; a 32-seat “smart” classroom/computer lab with laptops at every station, television monitors, and computerized whiteboards and projectors; and a reception area, as well as office and storage space.

Cameras installed throughout the lab will allow instructors to record the nursing skills that are practiced bedside. Back in the computer lab, students can then view the footage and analyze their skills more thoroughly. Students will also benefit from the addition of the METI men, which can be programmed to present life-like symptoms and respond to nursing students’ care.

Students from the Master's Entry Level Professional Nurse (MEPN) program get a helping "hand" with the first-ever clinical skills lab on the CSU Dominguez Hills campus. L-R: Scott Deragisich, Joseph de Veyra, and Poppy Purcell
Students from the Master’s Entry Level Professional Nurse (MEPN) program get a helping “hand” with the first-ever clinical skills lab on the CSU Dominguez Hills campus. L-R: Scott Deragisich, Joseph de Veyra, and Poppy Purcell; photo by Joanie Harmon

Since 1981, the CSU Dominguez Hills School of Nursing has been providing practicing registered nurses across the state the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s or master’s in nursing through a highly regarded distance learning program.
To address the critical shortage of nurses in the state, the school expanded in 2006 to include a pre-licensure master’s degree option for individuals interested in becoming nurses. This entry-level nursing program was designed to be an on-campus program and prompted the need at the university for a dedicated facility where students could practice their techniques.
Admitting approximately 30 new students each fall and with a yearly enrollment of approximately 80 students over two cohorts, the Master’s Entry Level Professional Nurse (MEPN) program previously conducted its skills clinics in a rudimentary lab set up in the SON administrative office space on campus. Students and faculty also traveled to CSU Fullerton to use the lab there. The new skills lab at CSU Dominguez Hills not only will serve the classroom instruction and skills lab needs of the MEPN students, but also the needs of RNs in the online bachelor’s or master’s programs, who as part of their coursework must take health assessment skills tests to demonstrate their competency.
“CSU Dominguez Hills understands the importance of a highly skilled nursing force, and for nearly 30 years has been a leader in educating this state’s nurses,” said President Mildred García. “The addition of this lab on our campus reaffirms our commitment to ensuring our diverse student body is trained in state-of-the-art facilities and standards of practice, and that we are producing well-prepared nursing professionals and healthcare leaders for our communities.”

MEPN student Jose Nava, who received the Dolores Jones Nursing Scholarship from Kaiser Permanente, thanks the campus community for its support of the new nursing lab project

MEPN student Jose Nava, who received the Dolores Jones Nursing Scholarship from Kaiser Permanente, where he did his clinical training, said that the lab is a boon to him and his classmates, who previously had to travel 50 miles roundtrip to CSU Fullerton in order to serve their 45-required hours in a clinical skills lab.

“You are giving hope not only to us but to future generations of nurses that are going to come after us,” he said to the assembled supporters of the lab. “I hope that this nursing skills lab… will give us more time to practice and hone our skills. As good nurses, it’s not only that we have it here in our minds and in our hearts. We also have to have it in our hands.”

Also recognized at the ribbon cutting were Carole Shea, former SON director, and Mitch Maki, former dean of the College of Professional Studies, under whose leadership the two-year construction project began. Larry Ortiz, acting dean of the College of Professional Studies, introduced Cynthia Johnson, acting SON chair and graduate program coordinator; Patricia Hinchberger, lecturer and director of the MEPN Program; and Laura Inouye, professor of nursing and MEPN assistant director, who led the SOS campaign. Adele Vanarsdale, construction manager of the university’s Facilities Planning and Construction Management was given a special award for her leadership during the two-year project that was designed by architects API Consultants.

SON will continue its campaign to raise money to keep the lab stocked with necessary supplies and equipment. Private and corporate donations of any amounts are welcome. A donor wall will hang in the lab to acknowledge the generosity of students, faculty, alumni and community members.

Approximately 2,000 students are enrolled in either the bachelor’s or master’s in nursing programs at CSU Dominguez Hills, one of the largest nursing programs in the CSU system.

To contribute to the ongoing needs of the lab, contact the CSU Dominguez Hills Office of Development at (310) 243-2182.

For more information about the School of Nursing, visit www.csudh.edu/cps/son.

Tri-Carson: Inaugural Event to Introduce CSU Dominguez Hills and City of Carson to Triathlete Community

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Tri-Carson logoThe first Tri-Carson, a reverse triathlon that consists of a 5K run, a 12-mile bike ride, and a 200-meter swim will take place on Saturday, Oct. 23, on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills and surrounding streets just east of the university. The event, which is co-sponsored by Kaiser Permanente, is presented by the City of Carson, the Carson Chamber of Commerce, and CSU Dominguez Hills.

David Gamboa, director of government and community relations at CSU Dominguez Hills says that he is looking forward to the Tri-Carson event as an opportunity to showcase the campus and expose more people to the university.

“Of the individuals who will be participating from throughout the state of California, I’m anticipating that this is the first time that many of them have been on this campus,” he says. “We’re out to identify Dominguez Hills as not only in the city of Carson but in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County.”

Denise Maruffo, business development analyst for the city of Carson and an MPA student at CSU Dominguez Hills, came up with the idea for Tri-Carson while researching a project for a statistics class on triathletes.

“I started looking up who the triathlete is, and you can see that their incomes are pretty high,” says Maruffo. “Putting my business development hat on, I figured that these are the people we want in Carson, taking classes, shopping, being business owners, and season ticket holders at the Home Depot Center. I thought this would be a great way to bring people to Carson and to introduce the campus.”

Maruffo says that the information and coupons that will be given to participants on the day of the event will hopefully entice those who live out of the Carson area to return to the city for shopping, dining, entertainment – and even an education.

“Hopefully they’ll come back [to CSU Dominguez Hills]… the next time they want to take a continuing education class,” she says. “It will be something that they weren’t aware of in the past.”

Gamboa says that many members of Greek organizations at CSU Dominguez Hills will serve as volunteers for Tri-Carson and he hopes that they will be encouraged by what they see to participate the next time, as well as begin to acquire an awareness of healthy living.

“This event will get the students to connect with the community and understand the importance of health and nutrition,” says Gamboa (Class of ’05, B.A., communications), former president of Associated Students, Inc. “As college students, their level of awareness of those issues is not that high. It will make them better students by teaching them to balance out fitness, nutrition and health with their academics.”

Maruffo, herself a triathlete who recently completed the L.A. Triathlon and the “Race on the Base” at the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base in Long Beach last February, says that, “Obviously it’s something I’m passionate about. We can expose children and adults to a new sport that promotes a better and healthier lifestyle.”

For registration and more information on Tri-Carson, click here.

Jennifer Bleidistel: Easter Seals Ambassador Teaches Children in Infant Toddler Center

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Jennifer Bleidistel works at the Infant Toddler Center at California State University, Dominguez Hills as a teacher assistant. Like the other staff members, she takes care of the children there, many of whom have disabilities like autism or Down syndrome. For the last ten years, she has read to them, fed them breakfast and lunch, and tended to their basic needs during the day. But unlike most the other teachers and assistants, she shares something in common with many of her young charges – she too has a disability.

Jennifer Bleidistel
Jennifer Bleidistel

Bleidistel, who was born with Down syndrome, found the job at the Infant Toddler Center through Easter Seals Southern California’s Supported Employment Program. On Oct. 9, she will be participating in the nonprofit’s annual Walk With Me event in Irvine as an Easter Seals Ambassador. She will also be videotaped at work in the Infant Toddler Center next week in her role as an ambassador, and introduced at the organization’s national convention this November in Chicago. In addition, she will be featured at Easter Seals events across the country as the National Adult Representative for 2011.

A regular spokesperson for Easter Seals for the last five years, Bleidistel has been featured at numerous events, speaking about her disability and how she has been able to live a fully functioning life, which includes her nurturing family environment, her work at CSU Dominguez Hills, and participation in the Special Olympics.

Bleidistel’s interest in child care stems from her role as an aunt to 12 nieces and nephews – with another on the way.

“They spoil me,” she says of her family, which includes five older brothers. “I spoil them back.”

Bleidistel, who attended public schools in Torrance, learned about child care as a career option through the SCROC (Southern California Regional Occupational Center) program at South High School in Torrance. She also graduated from the Special Resource Center at El Camino College, a program that provides adaptive education for the disabled.

She describes a typical day at the Infant Toddler Center, which was originally established at the university for children with disabilities: “I play with the kids. I diaper them, and feed them breakfast and lunch. Some are here for half a day and some of them are here for a whole day. They have a nap room.

“They learn things through me,” she continues. “We read, sometimes we do a project, art [projects], like making a collage. I like to teach kids who enjoy themselves with me and the other teachers too.”

When asked what her favorite thing is about working at the Infant Toddler Center, Bleidistel says, “The whole thing is my favorite thing. [So is] getting to know the staff more and getting to know all the kids’ names and what their disabilities are.”

Bleidistel’s mother, Adrian Bleidistel (Class of ’84, M.A., special education) served as head teacher of the Center in the 1980s while working on her master’s degree.

“Parents really take to [Jennifer] because their children are disabled,” says Adrian Bleidistel of her daughter’s affinity for the children of the Center. “They look at Jenny and figure that there’s hope for their child to have a job also. It’s been very good for Jenny to be employed there. It’s good for the parents to realize there’s a future for their child too.”

Jennifer Bleidistel has been a participant in the Special Olympics for the last 20 years and, according to her mother, takes part in almost every event, including tennis, softball, and bocce. Jennifer says her favorite sport is “basketball. And soccer. Also, there’s a new sport I like. It’s kind of rough but I like it. They call it flag football.”

“I win medals, ribbons, and trophies,” says Bleidistel. “It’s great exercise for me to lose weight. I compete in every sport.”

When she is not working at the Infant Toddler Center, Bleidistel lives the life of any 36-year-old. She takes the bus to work and likes to go shopping on the way home, mostly for school supplies and treats for children at the Center. She has a boyfriend, a librarian at the Katy Geissert Civic Center Library in Torrance, whom she met at a track and field event of the Special Olympics. She loves nature and enjoys visiting the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach with her parents and extended family.

Bleidistel, who was sometimes mainstreamed into regular classrooms while attending high school, hopes that working with disabled children will “help them fit in here.” She says that parents are happy to see her working with their children as a role model.

“They’re glad to see somebody who is nice, like me, who will help their children’s future,” she says.

Pete Van Hamersveld: Fight Against Cancer Won at Marathon Finish Line

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In December, 2007, Pete Van Hamersveld (Class of ’92, M.A., sociology) was told on his 50th birthday that he had colon cancer. It had been discovered during a routine colonoscopy, and the resulting surgery revealed that the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes. Van Hamersveld had Stage 3C colon cancer, which is one level before a terminal diagnosis. That was in January 2008, and throughout more than a year’s worth of chemotherapy, radiation, and a second surgery, he decided to take on a regimen of physical conditioning that included running–thus entering a race to save his life literally and figuratively.

Pete Van Hamersveld
Pete Van Hamersveld

“When I was going through chemo, I was given a lot of material by the American Cancer Society,” says Van Hamersveld, who is the associate director of Institutional Research, Assessment, and Planning at California State University, Dominguez Hills. “Some of it indicated that you should start exercising when you’re on chemo to help your appetite and keep up some levels of energy, so I started walking a mile everyday. After a few weeks, I got to the point where I could slowly jog that mile and kept improving. It took me six months, but on the morning of my last chemo session, I ran two and a half miles.”

Van Hamersveld’s training was not without its difficulties.

“One of the side effects I developed at the end of six months of chemotherapy was neuropathy in my feet and sometimes I would fall when I was running,” he says. “It got bad enough to prevent me from running for several weeks until I got over that. Later, a different chemotherapy I got during radiation treatments warned against foot damage that could occur from activities like running, so I had to stop again.”

In February 2009, Van Hamersveld underwent another surgery to reconnect his colon, during which he stopped running one last time. After recovering for another six weeks, he decided to pick up where he left off.

“By about mid-April, I started to jog again,” he says. “I’ve also read in the research for some cancers that vigorous exercise might actually help fight off recurrence. I thought to myself, ‘I’m going to keep doing this.’ And I decided it would be really great if I could run an entire marathon, which is 26.2 miles long.”

Eight months after his second surgery, Van Hamersveld ran the 2009 Long Beach International City Bank Marathon. Using the American Cancer Society‘s Website, he created a page for a fundraiser that he named “Fighting Cancer, One Step at a Time.” He reached his goal of raising $2,600, half of which came in after he posted a photo of himself finishing the marathon, which he did in five hours and 55 minutes, just under the six-hour limit.

“My only goal was to finish [the marathon],” recalls Van Hamersveld. “I was pretty close to [completing] my treatment to be doing something like that. During the last few miles I could feel the cramps setting in and I didn’t want to jeopardize my goal, so it got to the point where I decided I could walk the last stretch and still make it.”

Encouraged by his victory, Van Hamersveld decided to take on the California Dreamin’ Racing Series. Participants who complete all three marathons within two years qualify for the series medal. Van Hamersveld completed all three within ten months.

Although still recovering from the Long Beach race and the after-effects of his cancer treatments, his second race in the series was the 2010 Surf City USA Marathon in Huntington Beach in February. Then this past July, Van Hamersveld completed the series with the 2010 San Francisco Marathon.

“I ran an hour and eight minutes faster than the first one,” he says of his time in the Surf City USA Marathon, which he finished in four hours and 47 minutes. “This time I never stopped to walk and was in better condition then. I finished so early that my family wasn’t at the finish line yet. I borrowed someone’s phone and called them to say I was already done.”

For the San Francisco Marathon, considered one of the most difficult marathons in California, he almost matched his Surf City race time, coming in at four hours and 48 minutes.

“Running a marathon is about suffering through it,” he says. “Even now after going out for my regular six-mile run I realize I still haven’t fully recovered from San Francisco. One of the hills was actually marked as a 31.5 percent incline. I was already in pain at nine miles and it got worse as I kept going. I ran the whole time and my pace was pretty consistent throughout the whole race. My last three miles was the fastest pace.”

While preparing to run the marathons, Van Hamersveld also picked up the pace in his everyday life and returned to his job at the university in September 2008 while still undergoing radiation treatments and chemotherapy.

“It made me feel great to do the normal thing again – driving to work on the busy freeway, seeing my coworkers, and basically just getting back to as normal a routine as before,” he says. “I even valued Mondays just as much as Fridays, although I have to admit I’m starting to regress in this area.”

Van Hamersveld says that the outpouring of concern and support from his colleagues and supervisors was also part of the healing process.

“We have a lot of caring people in our campus community,” says Van Hamersveld. “Many told me they were praying for me and in many different languages – I’m glad God is multicultural. One faculty member told me she has a regular prayer list and that I’m at the top of it. When another faculty member told me he ‘sent a little prayer up’ for me, I thanked him and said that I didn’t know he believed in such things. He replied, ‘Well, I usually don’t, but just in case.’ That really meant a lot to me. While I was on my first chemo regiment, the administration was great, and accommodated me by having me work from home whenever I felt well enough via a virtual personal network.”

Pete Van Hamersveld, associate director of Institutional Research, Assessment, and Planning (at center) with Dr. Luke Chen and Jennifer Lo, physician's assistant of Pacific Shores Medical Group in Huntington Beach.
Pete Van Hamersveld, associate director of Institutional Research, Assessment, and Planning (at center) with Dr. Luke Chen and Jennifer Lo, physician’s assistant of Pacific Shores Medical Group in Huntington Beach.

Although Van Hamsersveld’s diversion of running was a key to his recovery, he had the expected psychological battles to fight as well. He says that he was plagued with cancer-related dreams in the beginning and was astounded by the rate at which the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes, since just five years prior he had had a clear colon exam.

“When my surgeon first told me the results of the pathology report indicating that the cancer spread to five lymph nodes resulting in Stage 3C, it was a scary hit,” he says. “For the first few months, I was obsessed with my odds – I do work with numbers. I tried to deal with my situation by reminding myself that I’ve had a pretty good life and realized that lots of people get cancer so I shouldn’t feel singled out or particularly unlucky.”

Another of Van Hamersveld’s concerns when he was diagnosed was for his children.

“My daughter was only 11 at the time and my son was 15,” he says. “It really bothered me to think of them being so young and [possibly] losing their father. I also remember reasoning that I didn’t want to miss out on the life that I still had for fear of what I may not have in the future.”

Van Hamersveld hopes that his story will encourage people to be more aware of the possibility of colon cancer–especially beginning at age 50–and the steps that can be taken to prevent it from spreading.

“My hope is that hearing about my experience will raise awareness of the need to get proper screening in a timely manner and not ignore any symptoms in between, even if previously tested and cancer was once ruled out,” he says. “I especially want people to be aware that the most common symptom of colon cancer is no symptoms at all.”

Van Hamersveld says he plans on finishing his fourth marathon in a year by running in the Long Beach Marathon again next month and possibly entering the Los Angeles Marathon in March 2011. He says that while he is tested every three months and so far has shown no signs of the cancer recurring, he does not look very much beyond short term plans.

“When I get tested and it works out, well the marathons–these are milestones,” he says. “Before the cancer, I never ran more than five miles at a time in my whole life. Now I’m setting lifetime distance records. What I would never have believed during those first difficult months after my diagnosis is that just two years later I would be in the best physical conditioning of my life, having completed three marathons in ten months and with hope for a cancer-free future.”

“Running a marathon is fun and while I’m running, I’m really thankful that I can even do it. It’s my way of celebrating that I’m still healthy.”

Jumpstart: CSU Dominguez Hills Launches Partnership with National Mentoring Program for Preschoolers

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In the early weeks of the fall semester at California State University, Dominguez Hills students are not just buying textbooks and reading syllabuses for their new classes. Students from a wide variety of majors are preparing to serve 300 hours over the course of the 2010-11 academic year as Jumpstart Corps members. The students will be working to ensure that preschoolers in Carson and Compton receive mentoring and encouragement that will propel them to do well in school and to begin to think of themselves as college-bound.

New corps members in the Jumpstart program will help prepare local preschoolers with basic skills and ultimately groom them for college. L-R: Jasmone Riggins, freshman, human services; Sheree Frison, freshman, political science; Adriana Godoy, administrative assistant, Center for Service, Learning, Internship, and Civic Engagement; and Sergio Pineda, site manager, Jumpstart
New corps members in the Jumpstart program will help prepare local preschoolers with basic skills and ultimately groom them for college. L-R: Jasmone Riggins, freshman, human services; Sheree Frison, freshman, political science; Adriana Godoy, administrative assistant, Center for Service, Learning, Internship, and Civic Engagement; and Sergio Pineda, site manager, Jumpstart

Jumpstart, a nonprofit focused on early childhood education, addresses school readiness among preschool children in low-income communities. The 30 members of the newly established Jumpstart Los Angeles County at CSU Dominguez Hills will be paired with preschoolers at Rainbow Child Development Center and Immanuel Children Development Center in Compton for twice-weekly sessions that will include helping the children with basic language and math skills, reading, and assisting teachers. The corps will also be working with children in the Child Development Center at CSU Dominguez Hills.

CSU Dominguez Hills joins a network of 62 institutions dedicated to addressing the needs of America’s preschool population through partnerships with Jumpstart. Cheryl McKnight, director of the Center for Service Learning, Internship, and Civic Engagement (SLICE) says, “We are proud to join Jumpstart in this critically important work. It strengthens our commitment to the community and gives our students the chance to enrich their academic experience by giving back to their community in a meaningful way.”

Jumpstart selects colleges and universities to join its higher education network using a rigorous application process that assesses the institution’s goals, dedication to early childhood education, and previous community service projects.

The Jumpstart curriculum is results-driven and draws on research in early childhood education, stressing the development of language and literacy skills. Children involved in the program are evaluated at the beginning, middle, and again at the end of the school year. Results from these evaluations demonstrate that children in Jumpstart tend to make greater advances in the evaluated areas than their non-participant peers.

Sergio Pineda, Jumpstart site manager at CSU Dominguez Hills, says that he is recruiting corps members who don’t necessarily have a lot of experience working with children, but who sincerely want to help them through a structured curriculum that prepares children for school and ultimately college, with a focus on literacy, mathematics, and building their confidence and self-esteem.

“We’re not going to just be hanging out with the kids,” says Pineda. “We have a mission, and that mission is to have these kids reading by the time they get to kindergarten. I’m looking for people who are very dynamic, very passionate about it, and are excellent storytellers.”

Pineda, who was born in Guatemala and arrived in the United States as a small child, says that one of his goals is to show the children that there are “adults who care, role models in the community who have gone through what they’ve gone through.”

“I came to the U.S. and didn’t speak a word of English,” he says. “I didn’t get the guidance, I didn’t get the help. One of my goals now is to give back and to [present] these literacy programs that could prevent so many other things. When you think about it, [Jumpstart is] like a form of gang prevention. I think it’s so much more than just reading a book. A lot of our [corps] are from the Carson and Compton areas, so it’s a way to show [the children] that they too could end up as successful people.”

Sheree Frison, a freshman majoring in political science, says that because she never had access to a program like Jumpstart as a child, she looks forward to serving as a corps member after her experience teaching students at Clyde Woodworth Elementary School in Inglewood how to read and write.

“It was a joy to go in and help the children, because when I was young, it took me awhile to learn how to write and read,” she says. “I think it’s a privilege to help out the children and give back to the community because I didn’t get that.”

Jumpstart also provides professional development for CSU Dominguez Hills students. Lizette Bernal, a senior majoring in history, is the corps’ volunteer coordinator. As she plans to teach history at the college level, she says that any experience working in the community is useful as well as gratifying.

“You want to see people succeed who don’t… have access to great preschools or Headstarts,” she says. “I’ve spoken to some kindergarten teachers and they say it’s really sad that some kids go in and don’t even know how to hold a pencil. It’s really sad that not everyone can get the same attention, so I really hope that Jumpstart makes a difference.”

Jasmone Riggins, a freshman majoring in human services, agrees.

“I always knew I wanted to help people, since I was little,” she says. “I read up on [human services] and decided I wanted to major in it. Then I came across Jumpstart and it sounded like something I really wanted to [do] to help people.”

Jumpstart will utilize the university’s Federal Work-Study (FWS) dollars to pay students for their service, enabling them to augment their income while still in school and to finance their education by performing valuable community service. In addition, Jumpstart Corps members who are not receiving FWS at this time may earn a $1,100 AmeriCorps education award upon completing 300 hours of service to pay for tuition, loans, or other related expenses.

Jumpstart is now recruiting students at CSU Dominguez Hills to serve 300 hours over the 2010-2011 academic year. For more information, click here or contact Pineda at (310) 243-2438.