Maryville’s Online Nursing Programs are reaching thousands of rural students to provide access to health care for those who are without access in their communities.
Driving down the two-lane highway to Olney, Illinois, feels like entering a postcard of America’s heartland. The road is lined with corn, soybean and hay fields. Grain elevators and barn roofs are scattered across the horizon among water towers boasting city names.
Carle Richland Memorial Hospital in Olney serves eight counties spread out across southeastern Illinois with a total patient population of more than 100,000. The three-floor hospital has 104 beds and is the second largest employer in the county behind the Walmart distribution center.
Sallie VanBlaricum, BSN, RN, a Maryville nursing student, works in the hospital’s surgery department as a circulating nurse, performing duties that cannot be done by staff who are scrubbed in and sterile. This includes charting what is happening in the operating room and obtaining supplies and equipment. She also prepares patients for procedures and escorts them to recovery.
“In the moments when my patients are scared, frustrated, upset or lost, they just need someone to hold their hand,” VanBlaricum said. “I like being that person. I like figuring out what I can do to ease their nerves and explain what’s going on.”
VanBlaricum is on call in the evenings and weekends and often works long shifts. She is keenly aware of the shortage of providers in her area, which will be compounded by the retirement of three local doctors later this year. She knows having more nurse practitioners would provide a viable solution to the problem, so she recently started her master’s degree in nursing through Maryville Online.
“There is a lot of need in our area, and I want to be able to provide for everybody,” said VanBlaricum, who plans to specialize in a particular area of medicine. Currently, local residents have to travel one hour to see a specialist in areas like dermatology. “I hope the availability of more specialists will encourage people to seek care,” she said. “I believe preventive care is the key to a healthy life.”
One health issue among local residents is opioid addiction and dependence. The opioid crisis is devastating communities across America, and Olney has not escaped its reach. It’s estimated more than 64,000 Americans die from drug overdoses each year. Providers are now offering medication-assisted treatment (MAT) which combines the use of medications with counseling and behavioral therapies totreat opioid use.
VanBlaricum’s cousin died from an opioid overdose when she was 24 years old. VanBlaricum was also 24 at the time, and the tragedy influenced her life in many ways. “I wish my cousin could have received help beforehand, but there wasn’t any help available,” she said. “Addiction is very hard to fight and it consumes people’s lives. In the future, I want to be there for people and find ways to help so they don’t lose hope.”