There's something new at the Hospital Consortium Education Network (HCEN) and it's designed just for the business community.

HCEN, well known for its extensive offering of courses for its sponsoring hospitals and the health community, is now presenting courses and topics designed for business professionals who want to find ways to enhance work and home life through improved communication and attention to personal needs.

President and CEO of HCEN, Rebecca Petersen, is enthusiastic about the new project.

"Many classes we offer in a hospital setting are aimed at managers and leaders, and they offer skills that managers need anywhere. Since we are located in Hacienda, we wanted to offer courses that business people would find attractive."

The new series of four, two-hour classes includes "Work-Life Balance" on May 18; "Communicating for Maximum Effectiveness" on June 15; "Stress, Burnout and Health" on July 20; and "Communication Between the Sexes" on August 17. Chris Nihil, M.A. will be the instructor. Each class will be held from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the HCEN offices, 4811 Hopyard Rd., Gateway Square. The cost is $45 per class for member hospitals and Hacienda employees, and $55 for all others.

There's more for business. Petersen says that HCEN works closely with companies to design custom courses to meet clients' needs. These range from management skills and leadership training to important consumer healthcare-related topics such as CPR, first aid, alternative health care, cholesterol, herbal therapy, depression, and diet and mood.

For the health care community, there are dozens of courses in almost every medical field. HCEN is approved to provide continuing education for RNs, LVNs, RCTs, CNAs, STs, EMTs, LCSWs, MFCCs, and radiology techs, along with other health care providers.

HCEN has recently been affiliated with St. Mary's College in Moraga. Participants in HCEN programs who want to pursue a degree can receive college credit for work done at HCEN.

HCEN is the largest provider of healthcare education and training outside the university and college setting in Northern California. The organization is guided by an advisory board of executives from the 46 sponsoring hospitals including, locally, ValleyCare Health System, Eden Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente and Washington Hospital Health Care System.

For more information about HCEN and course registration, call Yvette Surendran or Kathy Gavigan at (925) 416-1798 or send e-mail.

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