24
October
2019
|
01:10 AM
Europe/Amsterdam

$464,747 TWC Skills Development Fund Grant Supporting Training for Healthcare Industry Partner’s Career Ladder Initiative

Article by: Melinda Eddleman

Providing quality health care to patients in the Texas Coastal Bend is a priority for Corpus Christi Medical Center (CCMC). Through a $464,747 Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) Skills Development Fund grant, Del Mar College (DMC) is providing training to 278 CCMC employees.

On Oct. 23, TWC Commissioner Representing Labor Julian Alvarez, along with representatives from the College, CCMC and Workforce Solutions of the Coastal Bend, held a formal ceremonial check signing event to announce the grant. The announcement was held at the DMC Center for Economic Development, where much of the training takes place.

Watch the announcement in its entirety below with speakers DMC Vice President of Workforce Development and Strategic Initiatives Lenora Keas, WSCB Board Chair Victor Gonzalez, Jr., TWC Commissioner Julian Alvarez, DMC Dean of Workforce Programs and Corporate Services Dan Korus, CCMC Vice President of Human Resources Vince Goodwine and Samantha Hooper, a CCMC employee who completed the College’s Certified Nurse Aide program as part of training covered by the grant:

 

The training is part of CCMC’s career ladder initiative for current professionals that is also designed to attract new talent, including training newly hired employees to become certified nurse aides (CNAs) while on the system’s payroll. The current CNA cohort began their training Sept. 30 and will complete the program on Oct. 25.

The grant began May 1 and will end April 30, 2020. Employees receiving training include registered nurses (RNs), case managers, switchboard operators, unit secretaries and CNAs.

A key CCMC goal is to expand the capacity of their existing workforce while continuing to attract new talent that meets patient needs. CCMC leadership has set their career ladders initiative as a priority for entry level clinical staff, such as CNAs because they provide much of the direct patient care and are critical in assisting RNs with patient needs.

As part of the grant announcement, the current cohort of CNA students, who are also CCMC employees, demonstrated the skills they have learned as program participants, including proper hand washing, donning and removing PPE (gowns and gloves), checking vitals (blood pressure, temperature and weight), counting and recording radial pulse, proper bed transferal and positioning, perineal care and feeding patients who cannot feed themselves.

 

CCMC has facilities throughout the Coastal Bend, including Bay Area, Northwest Regional, Northshore Emergency Center, Doctors Regional, the Heart Hospital, Bayview Behavioral Hospital and Corpus Christi Cancer Center. Among these facilities, services encompass hospital care, clinics, emergency care, women’s services, cancer care and pediatric services. The programs focus on the needs of individual patients while employing the latest techniques and research of 21st Century medicine.

Nursing and healthcare professionals have always been in demand in the Coastal Bend. The historically tight labor market puts additional pressure on CCMC to find qualified individuals to fill their needs.

CCMC is leveraging the Skills Development Fund grant to upskill their current workforce and provide additional career opportunities for their staff.

Among the DMC classes offered to CCMC employees through the grant are Advanced Cardiac Life Support (initial and renewal), Basic Life Support (new provider and renewal), Certified Nurse Aide (clinical and lecture), Crisis Prevention and Intervention (initial and recertification), Interpersonal and Communications Skills, Neurovascular Crisis for Stroke Patients, Pediatric Advanced Life Support (initial and recertification), Professionalism and Customer Service, Progressive Care Nurse, Spanish for Medical Workers, Specialized Computer Applications and Wound Care.

 

About Del Mar College

Del Mar College empowers students to achieve their dreams. We offer quality programs, individual attention, outstanding instruction through faculty with real-world experience and affordable costs to credit and noncredit students in Corpus Christi and the South Texas Coastal Bend area. Nationally recognized while locally focused, we’re ranked in the top two percent of community colleges in the country granting associate degrees to Hispanic students (Community College Week). Del Mar College focuses on offering our students programs that match current or emerging career opportunities. Whether students are interested in the fine arts, sciences, business, occupational or technical areas, students get the education they need for the future they want at Del Mar College.