Mended Hearts Gives Gift to USC Aiken School of Nursing

Aiken, SC (01/13/2018) — Mended Hearts, Aiken Chapter 294, gave the University of South Carolina Aiken School of Nursing a generous gift, which will help prepare nursing students for their careers.

Dr. Thayer McGahee, dean of the SON, received a gift of $9,500, which will help fund the purchase of a Student Auscultation Manikin.

"This life-like torso is an innovation in helping students learn how to identify heart and lung sounds," said McGahee.

"This is an incredible asset for our health assessment course. Students are able to hear realistic normal and abnormal sounds."

SAM will be used primarily in first-semester nursing courses.

Instructors can take SAM to class, and students can see EKG tracings on a screen while hearing the sound in the actual part of the cardiac cycle. Scenarios can be customized for students so they are able to access a wide variety of pathological conditions they may later encounter in real-world healthcare settings.

"This new manikin will allow our students to enhance their physical assessment skills," McGahee said.

She adds that Mended Hearts has enhanced the nursing program "in ways you can't imagine."

The group has contributed to the university since 2004 and has given approximately $80,000 to assist with myriad student programs.

"This is a partnership that makes an impact," Dr. Sandra Jordan, chancellor, told several members of Mended Hearts during the check presentation.

"We have a fabulous school of nursing. [Mended Hearts] make it better."

Since 2001, members of the Aiken chapter of Mended Hearts have provided support and encouragement to area cardiac patients and their families.

Much of the financial support the group gives the university is raised during the annual Mended Hearts golf tournament.

"We have great benefactors," said Philip Winsor, a member and former president of Mended Hearts, Aiken Chapter 294.

Some of those donors may even be patients of USC Aiken School of Nursing graduates.

"We hear so many great things about USC Aiken nurses," Winsor said.

"They have a job waiting for them when they graduate. They are desired throughout the CSRA."

Gifts, like the one Mended Hearts gave, help prepare these students for numerous healthcare situations.

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