CNA program shows need for healthcare workers
Interesting article: http://www.sj-r.com/top-stories/x860...h-care-workers
A 5-year-old program that trains certified nursing assistants is well past the 500 mark with the latest group of graduates, and there already is a waiting list for the next class scheduled to begin in January.
It also is one more sign of shortages in the nursing field that have persisted through the recession, a program coordinator said Tuesday.
“These students already are employed in the health-care field, perhaps in a hospital, or as a clerk, and they want to go into nursing,” said Linda Hovey of New Start Inc., a Springfield not-for-profit that coordinates the program.
“They work in hospitals and long-term care facilities, and in the last couple of years, in-home care,” said Hovey.
Hovey said monthly classes traditionally have alternated between Peoria and Springfield, and were held in Centralia for a time. As a result of demand, she said plans are to offer the classes monthly in Springfield in 2011.
Grants through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity pay for the training at no cost to students. It is one of several local programs to be expanded or accelerated to meet the demand for nurses and nursing support workers.
The Step Up program includes 127.5 hours of classes in theory, laboratory work and hands-on clinical experience. CNAs work under the supervision of a registered nurse.
Springfield resident Tara Tobias, who was among nine students in the November class, said she applied to the program as a first step toward obtaining an associate’s degree in nursing at Lincoln Land Community College.
She said she eventually wants to earn her master’s degree in nursing.
“I’m just looking to forward my education and become a nurse,” said Tobias, age 20. She obtained medical-assistant training at the Midwest Technical Institute in Springfield after graduating from Springfield High School.
Tobias went to work this summer at Memorial Medical Center. She said supervisors arranged her schedule to allow her to work on her nursing assistant certification.
Hovey said there usually are 10 students per class, adding that there is a waiting list of about 50 applicants for the January program.
Additional information is available from New Start Inc., 522-3799, or by e-mail, newstartinc@sbcglobal.net.
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