New Registered Apprenticeship Program for Nurse Aides and Home Care Aides!
Friday, June 14, 2019 Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) Secretary Jerry Oleksiak announced a new registered apprenticeship program for nurse aides and home care aides with the Greater Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. The apprenticeship will help meet growing demand for workers to provide care for seniors.Oleksiak toured the Deer Meadows Home Health and Support Services facility and discussed the Wolf Administration’s commitment to helping Pennsylvanians become better prepared for in-demand careers. The governor’s Statewide Workforce Education and Accountability Program (SWEAP) proposal would provide an additional $10 million to expand access to education and training opportunities, apprenticeships and STEM careers to build on the success of PAsmart that launched last year.
Deer Meadows Home Health is pleased to be partnering with The Greater Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and Holy Family University on an innovative apprenticeship program for nurse’s aides and advanced home health care aides. The goal is for the program is to become a job-generating program starting with entry level home health aides.Holy Family University will deliver the curriculum although training for nurses’s aides and advanced home health care aides was not part of their curriculum up until this point, “it fits with our competencies,” says Karen Galardi, EdD, MBA, Dean, Graduate and Professional Studies at Holy Family University. “We have nursing programs from the baccalaureate through doctorate levels. Assisting with this program is a natural fit.” Dr. Galardi also hopes to see the program expand in the future.
Stanley Rynkiewicz, RN, MSN, WCC, DWC, CCS, NHA, and Deer Meadows Home Health and Support Services, LLC, Administrator, is pleased to participate in the program as a way to give back to the community. He sees the program as an opportunity to help employees succeed. “In time, it will help people that want to stay employed and grow with the program,” he says. They hope to add an LPN track to the program in the coming years. “It’s great to work with partners like Holy Family University and the Greater Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. Without partners, something like this would not happen,” he says.
Apprenticeship programs like this make advanced training obtainable and provides for those who are seeking training to enter the healthcare field. “The program with the Greater Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce is great because it’s a non-traditional sponsor, Holy Family University is a non-traditional trainer, and Deer Meadows is a non-traditional employer,” says James Chiarchiaro a workforce intermediary with the Keystone Development Partnership. “Programs like this can provide opportunities for women, minorities, non-English speaking individuals, and members of the LGBT community, among others.” He hopes to see the program grown into other occupations, such as information technology, that will help provide the training needs for a 21st Century workforce.
Funding for this type of program can be provided by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Labor & Industry, Philly Works and local Career Link.
