Mercy Medical Center and Simpson University Create Partnership

For immediate release
July 7, 2006

REDDING, Calif. - Mercy Medical Center Redding and Simpson University have agreed to partner to help train students who are interested in the healthcare profession, assist with job placement and help  Mercy employees who want to attend Simpson.

A "strategic alliance" recently signed noted that both institutions provide valuable services to the north state, and it would be "in their mutual best interest to be teammates."

The Simpson-Mercy partnership includes cooperative initiatives such as internship placements for Simpson students; guest speaker opportunities; chaplain training; student teaching opportunities; preferred student status for Mercy employees at Simpson University; sharing of resources and facilities; and joint community projects. In addition, Simpson students will be encouraged to work more closely with the CHW non-profit organizations on their neighboring Mercy Oaks campus.

The alliance will also be beneficial as Simpson expands into health sciences and nursing as part of a new curriculum plan that was approved by the Board of Trustees in April.  The university plans to begin a B.S. degree in Biology and an A.A. degree in Pre-Nursing, working in collaboration with Shasta College, in the Fall of 2007. A B.S.N. degree in Nursing is planned for Fall of 2008. 

According to Dr. Stanley A. Clark, university provost, "We are pleased to have a chance to provide these needed programs for the north state and anticipate an active and mutually beneficial partnership with our colleagues at Mercy Medical Center. Such cooperation is vital for our success."

Mercy Medical Center Redding President Rick Barnet said he is excited to be part of this alliance. "Simpson has great community spirit and we look forward to embracing Simpson's students at our medical center. Offering additional educational opportunities through Simpson to our dedicated team of Mercy employees is also a great opportunity. I am excited to have Simpson students work with the seniors at our Mercy Oaks Campus that is located next to the university. We are delighted to work with a like-minded organization and pray the community will be blessed by our efforts."

Simpson Executive Vice President Brad Williams made clear his support of this partnership. "We are delighted to be teamed with Mercy Medical Center Redding and the Catholic Healthcare West organization through this strategic alliance. I have long been impressed by the passion that drives these organizations and by the compassion exhibited as they carry out their healthcare responsibilities. We have the utmost respect for the leadership team in place at MMCR and look forward to working together to provide even better service to the residents of the north state." 

Mercy Medical Center Redding is a part of Catholic Healthcare West (CHW), the eighth largest hospital system in the nation. Mercy Medical Center Redding is the hub of a three-hospital system, which comprises CHW North State. The market area spans 100 miles along Interstate 5, California's primary north/south corridor. Mercy's sister hospitals in the CHW North State are Mercy Medical Center Mount Shasta, approximately 60 miles north of Redding, and St. Elizabeth Community Hospital, in Red Bluff.

Mercy Medical Center Redding is a 273-licenced bed facility that provides a broad array of specialty services, including a comprehensive Heart Center, Regional Cancer Center (with an additional location at Mercy Mount Shasta), the greater Redding area's only Level II Trauma Center and a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Simpson University is a Christian liberal arts university that relocated to Redding in 1989. The university offers an undergraduate program with 23 majors, graduate degrees in education and ministry, and an adult degree-completion program (ASPIRE) that has helped more than 2,000 north state residents earn their bachelor's degrees.

 

Contact: For more information, contact Raimund Schulze, director of marketing and online media, at 530-226-4603 or rschulze@simpsonuniversity.edu or Mercy’s Communications Coordinator Michael Burke at 530-225-6113 or michael.burke@chw.edu