News Briefs from January 12, 2018
Reports from Northern California, Zambia, Southern California, Canada, the Philippines, India and Ghana
Adventist Health will transfer about 275 of its jobs to electronic records company Cerner. Beckers Hospital Review reports that about 190 of the positions will be health IT related and 85 will concern revenue processing. The Adventist Health employees slated to be transferred have been given 60 days to accept the transition. Although they will remain at the Roseville, California, Adventist Health headquarters, they will report to Cerner. Adventist Health expects to reduce costs by $300 million as a result of the transition.
The Zambian government has banned church services and other larger gatherings in high density residential areas of the nation’s capital, Lusaka. The ban is aimed at combating an outbreak of cholera in the city. Adventist churches have complied with the ban on gatherings, asking members to worship from home instead. The Catholic Herald reports that over 2,000 people have died of cholera in Zambia over the last 10 years. On January 7, the Zambian health ministry reported 57 deaths due to the recent outbreak.
Loma Linda University School of Nursing has launched a new Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP). The program is aimed to meet growing demand across the United States for doctoral-level nurse anesthesia education. A news story on the Loma Linda University Health website said that the program will offer graduate-level core nursing courses, nurse anesthesia concentration courses, clinical courses and DNP practice project courses. Graduates will receive a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. They will also be eligible for certification as nurse anesthetists.
From ADRA Canada – The Canada branch of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) has selected Stephen Matthews as its new executive director. Originally from Newfoundland, Matthews is a certified Professional Engineer and project management professional with experience in energy and environmental design and a Gold Seal Certified management professional in construction and civil engineering. He has served on a number of Adventist boards and has extensive experience in connecting with government and civic officials on various projects.
An Adventist University of the Philippines (AUP) graduate has placed among the Asian nation’s top 10 in the most recent sitting of the Dentistry Board Exam. The Sun Star news site reports that Jochebed Dianem Cruz Dominguez scored 82.94 in the exam. The score was the eighth highest in the country. AUP was established in 1917. It is affiliated with the Adventist denomination and is located in Puting Kahoy, Silang, Cavite, Philippines.
Students of METAS Adventist School in the Indian state of Gujarat were injured as a van transporting them to school caught fire. Four were injured (three with burns) while a further eight escaped unharmed. The accident took place in the city of Surat on Thursday morning. The van was carrying more passengers than legally permitted. Times of India reports that the van was neither carrying a fire extinguisher nor first aid equipment. The school has said that the van was not operated by the institution.
An Adventist medical student from Kenya died from a heart attack aboard a US flight a few days before Christmas. According to Mwakilishi.com, a news site covering news about the Kenyan diaspora, Gutwa was studying at the University of San Diego. The heart attack occurred on a Delta flight from San Diego to Minneapolis. A preliminary postmortem report on Gutwa showed that he suffered from a heart condition known as cardiomegaly or abnormally enlarged heart.
Students and staff of the Seventh-day Adventist Senior High School in Koforidua, south Ghana, were allegedly attached last month by four students from Koforidua Technical Institute (KOTECH). The accused attackers, all in their late teens, have been granted bail. Police and administrators of both institutions say they do not know what triggered the attacks. On December 14, the website of radio station Citi 97.3 reported that the violence was only the latest round in multiple alleged attacks on Adventist students and personnel by KOTECH students. Some some of the predominantly male of the institution clashed with police as they arrested the four students suspected of violence against the Adventist high school.
The Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary of Andrews University has reduced the credit requirement of its Master of Divinity (M.Div.) program. Andrews reported on its website that the previous 92-credit program has been reduced to 78 credits. It is designed to be completed in as little as 2 years by students with a prior bachelor’s degree in Theology. Students without such a bachelor’s can complete the M.Div. in three years. The newly restructured program starts in the fall of 2018.
