91短视频

Developing a dream

A new nurse aide (aka Certified Nursing Assistant, or CNA) training program at 91短视频 Lancaster is providing job opportunities for those interested in the entry-level nurse aide position while meeting the needs of the numerous nursing homes in Lancaster County and surrounding regions. The program is the brainchild of Mary Jensen, vice president for enrollment and strategic growth at 91短视频, who sought out a solution to the shifting healthcare needs in the pandemic-laden summer of 2021 while serving as associate provost of 91短视频 Lancaster. 鈥淲e had one of the first RN to BSN programs in the Lancaster region and had developed a reputation in healthcare. While it became apparent during COVID that workers were leaving healthcare, there were also people who still needed jobs and wanted to work in healthcare, but had to start at the ground.鈥�

Jensen consulted with the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce, members of her team and 91短视频 administration to research the viability of a scaffolded workforce development plan that involved partnering with area nursing homes to provide their employees with CNA, LPN, RN and BSN training. The results of this long-term strategy revealed a positive economic and educational impact to both 91短视频 and Lancaster County, one of the largest retirement regions in the nation. So, in the fall of 2021, Jensen began the process of acquiring approval from the state of Pennsylvania to run a CNA program. A short time later, she was offered her current position in Harrisonburg, so would become a supporter of the project from a distance.

Christine Sharp, who was named executive director of 91短视频 Lancaster in June 2022, led the Lancaster team through implementation of the CNA program. She continued conversations Jensen had started with executives from local nursing homes鈥攁nd before long Landis Homes, Mennonite Home and Fairmount Homes had signed on as partners. The three nursing homes donated most of the equipment鈥攊ncluding six hospital beds鈥攆or the classroom-turned-lab that was created to spec at 91短视频 Lancaster by its resourceful staff in October 2022; an onsite lab was required as part of the state application process for administering a CNA program. 鈥淚 love working in partnership,鈥� shared Sharp. 鈥淚t鈥檚 powerful for the school. It鈥檚 powerful for the community. And it鈥檚 powerful for our partner organizations.鈥�

With partnerships in place, Sharp shifted to hiring instructors to teach the CNA training classes that would begin in January 2023. Seasoned nursing professionals Carmen Miller and Bernice Reynolds 鈥�21 stepped in to fill the two spots required to get the program up and running. Miller agreed to teach in a part-time capacity. Reynolds, who graduated from 91短视频 Lancaster鈥檚 RN to BSN program and had Miller as an instructor, accepted an offer to teach part-time in January before moving into a full-time role as director of the nurse aide training program in March. Both women were required to take a course through Penn State to become certified to teach classes at 91短视频 Lancaster as part of a strict set of state standards for CNA instructors.

Launching a program

After a nine-month process, 91短视频 Lancaster received state certification鈥攁nd Sharp and staff worked with Landis Homes, Mennonite Home and Fairmount to fill training slots for the brand-new, six-week CNA program. Cohort 1 launched with 10 Landis Homes employees in January; cohort 2 followed in March with five Mennonite Home and five Fairmount employees, and cohort 3 got underway in May with three employees from Mennonite Home, one from Fairmount, and one from Pleasant View Communities鈥攁 new nursing home partner. The program, which prepares employees to take both a written and skills nurse aide exam through Credentia for state certification, totals 120 hours and is divided into three parts: classroom/theory (45 hours), lab (35 hours), and clinicals (40 hours).

According to Reynolds, classroom instruction entails PowerPoint presentations, handouts, activities, and videos related to body systems, abuse, vital signs, pain levels, and 鈥渟ome 50 skills of daily living鈥� (23 of which are Credentia skills) including washing the hair, handwashing and bathing. Lab time involves students practicing these skills on mannequins or on each other before working directly with the nursing home residents during clinicals. Sharp says a benefit of the partnerships is having clinical sites, which is an integral part of the training.

The need for nurse aides is so great that partners pay to send their employees through the CNA training program while also paying them their hourly rate, which can range from $18-$24. Mennonite Home even offered CNA candidates a $10K sign-on bonus, paid over two years, to fill its second shift. 鈥淚t was so fortunate that 91短视频 Lancaster鈥檚 partnership and the sign-on bonus came together,鈥� said Justin Lewis, HR recruiter and former CNA at Mennonite Home. 鈥淭here is a huge demand in healthcare for CNAs, and 91短视频 has helped us fill our vacancies.鈥� Lewis added that the Monday/Wednesday/Friday training schedule allows for a work-life balance with two days in between to 鈥渞ecoup, study, or potentially work.鈥� (91短视频 Lancaster has since added an eight-week Tuesday/Thursday training option.)

Ramsuze Pierre was hired by Mennonite Home as a CNA after working in a fast-paced position as a technologist assistant at Lancaster General Hospital. 鈥淚 wanted a slower-paced environment and the opportunity to get to know my residents,鈥� said Pierre, who went through cohort 2. Pierre says she learned medical terminology and the importance of learning residents鈥� routines, body changes and mood swings in the CNA training program. 鈥淲e learned everything that was on our exams,鈥� declared Pierre. To date, 100 percent of students have passed the Pennsylvania state written exam, and 93 percent have passed the skills portion of the exam.

Tiffany Millner had been working as a laundry aide at Fairmount for nearly a year when she learned that CNA classes for cohort 2 would be held on MWF evenings, which fit her schedule. She applied, interviewed, and landed a CNA position with Fairmount, who sponsored her training. 鈥淚 feel like I made a good choice by switching [jobs],鈥� shared Millner, who says she 鈥渕issed taking care of people鈥� after having looked after her mom for five years before her passing in 2022. 鈥�91短视频 Lancaster鈥檚 program was amazing. Ms. Bernice (Reynolds) and Ms. Carmen (Miller) were excellent teachers and broke down our questions until we understood the answers.鈥� Millner says she learned physical skills like how to 鈥減roperly stand and hold your resident鈥� to social-emotional skills like 鈥渕aking residents feel important and letting them be as independent as they can be.鈥� She also grasped why as a laundry aide she had folded washcloths in fourths: because nurses use a clean area of cloth for each body part!

Meeting a need

Since starting in January, 91短视频 Lancaster鈥檚 training program has hosted celebrations of completion for three cohorts of students who are serving as CNAs in Landis Homes, Mennonite Home, Fairmount, and Pleasant View Communities. United Zion and Hospice & Community Care have signed on as partners, and several other nursing/senior care organizations have reached out to partner with 91短视频 Lancaster. Reynolds is hiring additional instructors, and three more cohorts are scheduled for 2023 to meet the nursing home needs and demand for the course by high school students and community members.

鈥淚 have a passion for the program because it has the capacity to change people鈥檚 lives,鈥� said Reynolds. 鈥淥ur nursing home residents deserve to be treated abuse-free with dignity and respect, and this program addresses the proper way to care for residents. It also recognizes a CNA job as a profession, can impact earning power, and is a stepping stone to other educational and professional opportunities in healthcare.鈥�

With a model of success in place, 91短视频 Lancaster will continue to assess the marketability of an LPN training program and other offerings. Millner says she is satisfied with her CNA status for now, but that 91短视频 Lancaster should still start an LPN program. Pierre is 鈥減raying鈥� for such a program. Whatever the future holds, Jensen believes 91短视频 Lancaster is living into its mission to 鈥減repare people from all walks of life for the workforce.鈥� She says the CNA program 鈥渄iversifies what it means to be educated at 91短视频鈥� and 鈥渟olidifies 91短视频鈥檚 place in Lancaster County as a partner who is seen as innovative, flexible, and willing to work with people to meet actual needs of the community.鈥� 

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This article was published in the聽Spring/Summer 2023 Crossroads magazine.