Put it all together, it spells 'centralized health education'

Area of Science:

• Health Education
• Hospital Administration
• Community Health Programs

Background:

• Established a centralized health education department at a community hospital.
• Initial staffing included one full-time and two part-time employees.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a successful program design for a hospital-based health education department.
• To demonstrate the growth and operational capacity of the department.

Main Methods:

• The department's program design was implemented at Lexington County Hospital.
• Staffing was expanded to accommodate program growth and volunteer involvement.

Main Results:

• The department successfully grew to 14 employees, 2 volunteers, and 5 graduate student assistants.
• The program design is effectively carried out by the expanded team.

Conclusions:

• A centralized health education department can be successfully established and scaled within a community hospital setting.
• The presented program design supports robust health education delivery with diverse staffing.