AGH offers new training program

(June 22, 2023) Atlantic General Hospital and Health System is eliminating barriers to entry into the healthcare workforce with a new training program for certified nursing assistants.

The program is credentialed through the Maryland Board of Nursing and is seven weeks long, with the final three weeks devoted to handson clinical training. Another week of training is provided for program participants who will become medical office assistants in the physician practice setting.

According to a news release, the first six students started the course in April.

“They’re an enthusiastic group, and we’re so happy to have them here,” Kelly Fox, a registered nurse and one of the education department’s clinical education specialists, who acted as the lead for the program, said in the release.

The students are paid an hourly wage during training and receive their instruction and books at no cost, in exchange for a year of paid service as CNAs upon program completion. The goal, Fox said, is to offer the program twice a year, or as needed, to fill open positions within the hospital and the health system’s physician practices.

“The participants commit to working at Atlantic General for a year, but we hope they remain with us,” registered nurse Bonnie Mannion, education manager for Atlantic General, said. “We want them to feel that they are an important part of the wonderful culture we have built here.”

A key aspect of that culture is the importance placed on growing talent from within, and supporting any employee’s desire for learning and ongoing professional development. Many employees have found a pathway to advancement with the help of the organization’s James G. and Nancy W.

Barrett Nursing Scholarship and tuition assistance programs, the release said.

The first round of graduates from the CNA training program were honored on June 2. They were:

• Porter Bunting, emergency department

• Sarah Coffin, medical/surgical unit

• Miracle Handy, surgical services

• Emma Konopik, intensive care unit

• Brianna McDermott, medical/surgical unit

The CNA training program is funded by proceeds from the Tacos, Tiaras and Sombreros fundraiser hosted by Atlantic General Hospital’s Junior Auxiliary Group.

ROBERT “BOB” TORREY Bishopville

Robert “Bob” Torrey, 67, of Bishopville, died June 13, 2023 after a brief battle with cancer.

He was born on June 7, 1956, to William A. Torrey Jr. and Jeanne Young Torrey in Washington DC. He moved to Salisbury at age 8. He graduated from James M. Bennett High School in 1974, then continued his education at Goldey-Beacom College where he graduated with an associate’s degree in business in 1976.

On Oct. 8, 1977, he married his high school sweetheart, Donna Banks. They have four children: Erin, Megan, Ashley, and Zac.

Bob’s passion in life was business. He owned and operated many different businesses over the years, but his true pride and joy was his very first, Happy Jack Pancake House in Ocean City. He took over Happy Jack at the age of 26, with no restaurant experience, little money, and no training, but overcame it all and helped it become the wildly popular establishment it is today. He worked every day

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