Page 3 - SFHN October 2021 Issue

Fortis College Welcomes
When It Comes to Patient

Care, Are You Easy to Do a New Dean of Nursing

Business With? BY CAROL NEWMAN

The South Florida region is nothing if not diverse. And
Recently I was thinking about buying a new the area’s diversity in culture, language, ethnicity and age,
car. Based on research and many owners brag- is one of the chief factors that drew Abby Villarroya,
ging about how much they enjoyed driving it, I Fortis College’s new Dean of Nursing, to the area. That,
settled on a Tesla. As I sat in my house and and in her words, “a desire to bring a positive and nurtur-
almost effortlessly put down the deposit on my ing teaching and learning experience to a diverse popula-
future vehicle, I say to myself, ‘Wow! This is tion.”
way too simple.’ But then I caught myself by With almost two decades of experience as a working
wondering why every car company can’t do the nurse and nurse educator, Villarroya realized early in her
exact same thing? Tesla enjoys one of the high- career that she wanted to focus on equipping student
est customer satisfaction ratings in the world nurses with the knowledge and skills, and equally impor- Abby Villarroya
and when you look at how easy they make it to tant, disposition, that they will need to succeed in today’s
do business with them, you start to figure out challenging healthcare climate. Helping students develop the cultural competence
just why that is. Taking it to a wider gaze, if you BY JAY JUFFRE that she, personally, has found so valuable, is a priority.
think about brands, vendors, or companies, Fortis College Cutler Bay’s academic structure was also an attraction. Abby believes
you personally cannot live without, the one that career colleges provide an ideal environment for students to grow personally and
thing all great B2B or B2C companies have in common is ease of use. professionally. Small class sizes and a comprehensive curriculum that delivers a bal-
So, let’s ask this question, if your goal is to be the local, regional, or ance of traditional classroom instruction, laboratory work and real-world hands-on
national provider of choice, what is the experience like for patients seeking skill development, “allows us to fulfill the needs of the community and future
care from your organization? Put yourself in the shoes of an average employers in a shorter amount of time.”
patient. From making the appointment to paying a bill, is it easy or way too A native of the Philippines, Villarroya says that adjusting to the American culture
difficult? made her not only a stronger person, but professionally, made her even more commit-
Many organizations are way ahead of the curve when it comes to utilizing ted to her values. As a nurse educator, she says that although the transition was not
technology and other means to make the entire experience smooth. While easy, she was supported by her family and friends and as a result is even more aware
others are still literally living in the dark ages where the patient experience and responsive to the needs of her students.
mirrors what was going on in the early 80’s. If you want a starting point, Currently in the final stages of her doctoral program at the Catholic University of
simply look at how many pieces of paper a new patient must fill out to seek America, Villarroya is excited to embark in this teaching-learning journey at Fortis
even routine medical attention. Streamline that process and then start look- College because, “the mission, vision, and student-centric philosophy of this College
ing at each step after that. You will be on the way to making things smooth fit perfectly with my own personal values and professional value of nursing excel-
for your patients and their families. If you want to be the medical profes- lence.” To further illustrate her perspective, she shares one of her favorite quotes by
sionals patients can’t live without, make it easy to do business with you. Gandhi, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

Jay Juffre is Executive Vice President, ImageFIRST. For more information on Fortis College Cutler Bay offers both Associate Degree in Nursing and Practical Nursing
ImageFIRST, call 1-800-932-7472 or visit www.imagefirst.com. programs as well as Medical Assisting. Learn more about how to get started on your career
education at Fortis by calling (786) 345-5300.

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South Florida Hospital News southfloridahospitalnews.com October 2021 3