Bowling Green, Ky. - On Wednesday, Aug. 23, more than 20 employees from T.J. Samson Community Hospital in Glasgow received certificates of completion during a celebration marking the conclusion of a yearlong program designed to develop and enhance their leadership skills.

Approximately 60 hospital employees in total participated in the T.J. Samson Leadership Academy during the past 12 months.

The Glasgow hospital partnered with the WKU Center for Training and Development (CTD) for the T.J. Samson Community Hospital Leadership Academy program. The curriculum was developed based on results from a survey distributed to hospital’s department directors. Course topics included Effective Listening, Dealing with Difficult People, Resolving Team Conflict, Enhancing Quality Service and Team Development.

At the graduation celebration, employees enjoyed a catered meal provided by the hospital. Dwayne Moss, CEO of T.J. Samson Community Hospital, opened the celebration with remarks followed by featured speaker Dr. Afzal Rahim, a Distinguished Professor and a professor of management in the WKU Gordon Ford College of Business. Also attending the event representing WKU were Dr. Don Swoboda, dean of the Division of Extended Learning and Outreach (DELO); Dr. Juanita Bayless, associate dean of DELO and director of WKU-Glasgow; Manon Pardue, director of the Center for Training and Development; Scott Taylor, an instructor for the T.J. Samson Leadership Academy; and Bill Oldham, marketing manager for DELO.

Moss explained why his organization created this program. “Through the T.J. Samson Leadership Academy, our employees learned skills needed to develop and enhance their leadership abilities,” he said. “WKU was able to come in and create a customized program that benefited our employees, our hospital and our patients.”

The WKU Center for Training and Development serves as a link between businesses and professional trainers from the University. “It was an honor to be able to partner with T.J. Samson in creating the Leadership Academy,” Pardue said. “This group of employees can apply what they learned in these sessions to enhance patient services and strengthen their community.”

The Center for Training and Development is a unit of the WKU Division of Extended Learning and Outreach. DELO delivers credit and non-credit educational opportunities to individuals, organizations and the public.
For information on DELO and the Center for Training and Development, visit www.wku.edu/delo.  For information about T.J. Samson Community Hospital, visit www.tjsamson.org.

More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.

For information, contact Bill Oldham at (270) 745-1926.

-WKU-
"A leading American university with international reach"

Office of Media Relations
Western Kentucky University
1906 College Heights Blvd., Bowling Green, Ky. 42101-3576
Phone: (270)745-4295 - Fax: (270)7455387 - E-Mail: western@wku.edu