Kate Rutecki graduated last summer with a nursing degree from NAU. She was hired into Flagstaff Medical Center's graduate nursing program.

Regan Newmann is a senior at NAU, and she's working at the hospital as an extern in the Labor and Delivery department. She is being supervised by senior nursing staff.

Rutecki, who works in the post-anesthesia care unit, said she feels privileged to get experience at FMC.

"The practical experience means so much more than the books," Rutecki said. "I think that's how most nurses feel."

Providing nurses to local hospitals, clinics and doctors' offices is just one of dozens of ways NAU's College of Health and Human Services benefits northern Arizona, said Executive Dean Leslie Schulz.

Some other professions that receive interns from the college include dental hygiene, athletic training, physical therapy and communication sciences and disorders, Schulz said. And the university provides dental clinics to the community serving 1,500 people.

According to information from NAU, a nursing degree is in the top five of degrees sought by students.

Having relationships with the local health care community is important for the training of students, but also for helping in the community, too, Schulz said.

"Those students are also providing care to people," she added.

She added later, "We're preparing the future generation of health professionals, and those facilities are going to be needing health professionals."

Richard Henn, director of the education department at FMC, said 50 percent of new graduate nurses the hospital hires come from Flagstaff colleges. The primary reason is to save money by recruiting nurses who already know the cultural diversity of the population and hospital's way of doing things.

"So we have a very strong working relationship with our local colleges," he said.

During any given week, 16 hours a day, six days a week, as many as 130 students from NAU and CCC are at the hospital.

Lynn Belcher, vice president of nursing services, said new graduates are helpful in filling the nursing shortages hospitals across the country are experiencing. She added that hiring must also take into account experience; a staff must have nurses with many years of experience as well.

As for the presence of the new graduates, Belcher said, "We couldn't survive without them."

Henn said the hospital would likely only be half the size without new graduates to help staff nursing positions.

Being a "teaching hospital" challenges everybody, Belcher said. The students bring in new knowledge and the university helps nursing staff continue educations.

But nursing, Henn said, is just one element of what NAU's health professions offer to the hospital, which also takes in physical and occupational therapists.

" There's just so many parts of NAU that are so important to this community as well as us as an organization," Henn said.

Rutecki said she wants to continue being a nurse at FMC.

Newmann said that after she graduates she wants to stay in Flagstaff and work in Flagstaff as a nurse as well.

"I've always wanted to be a nurse since I was born," she said.

— Larry Hendricks

Sun staff reporter

New graduate nurses

2006

NAU: 11 CCC: 17

Total: 51

2007

NAU: 13

CCC: 16

Total: 65

2008

NAU: 14

CCC: 16

Total: 59

2009

NAU: 13

CCC: 2

Total: 26

Extern nurses

2006

NAU: 9

CCC: 7

Total: 17

2007

NAU: 12

CCC: 1

Total: 16

2008

NAU: 9

CCC: 5

Total: 17

2009

NAU: 5

CCC: 2

Total: 10

— Source: Flagstaff Medical Center

Health professions interns per semester

Dental Hygiene: 50

Athletic training: 40

Nursing: 395

Physical therapy: 48

Health services: 125

Communication sciences disorders: 60

— Source: NAU College of Health and Human Services