Cincinnati State will honor first Health Careers Collaborative grads
March 2, 2010
Cincinnati State Technical and Community College will host a dinner Wednesday, March 3 to honor the first group of students to graduate through the Health Careers Collaborative.
The collaborative represents an innovative effort by some of Cincinnati’s leading educational and health care institutions. Their initial aim was to help employees – those with a strong work ethic but limited educational skills – advance in their careers. Thanks to a $4.9 million federal grant announced last month (February, 2010), the program will be expanded and will eventually include those who are not currently employed.
The 13 men and women who will be honored Wednesday are employed by the collaborative’s health care partners (Children’s Hospital Medical Center, the Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati and TriHealth, Inc.) Most entered the nursing program at Cincinnati State four years ago, and graduated with associate’s degrees in the Late Fall 2009 term that ended Feb.1.
“These are enormously dedicated men and women – and they’ve had just wonderful support from their employers,’’ said Dr. Marianne Krismer, Dean of Health and Public Safety at Cincinnati State. “This really is a success story.’’
Community colleges routinely serve students with limited educational backgrounds who are working in entry-level jobs and trying to improve their prospects for career advancement. And many employers offer educational incentives to employees, notably tuition reimbursement. But the Health Careers Collaborative takes extraordinary steps to help participants successfully acquire the education and training needed to advance to better jobs.
Tuition, for example, is paid in advance. Participants have access to coaches and collaborative partners who can provide help with such matters as adjusting to the college environment, financial planning, dressing appropriately and preparing for job interviews. And the nursing students who will be honored Wednesday had the assurance from the beginning that their work schedules would be adjusted when necessary to accommodate classes and clinical assignments.
At Cincinnati State, participants in the Health Careers Collaborative have priority scheduling and typically take most classes together. Several courses were developed specifically for students in the program. For example, one preliminary course – taught jointly by math and sciences faculty – combines science math with introductory chemistry.
Those 13 graduates are now eligible to take the Ohio state board examinations for certification as registered nurses. Several are planning to continue their studies and pursue bachelor’s degrees.
Meanwhile, other Health Careers Collaborative students are on track toward additional degrees at Cincinnati State. In addition to nursing, they are studying Allied Health (which includes surgical tech, clinical lab technologies and respiratory care). And the $4.9 million grant awarded in February by the U.S. Labor Department will allow the collaborative to increase the program significantly.
Wednesday’s dinner will be held at the Summit Restaurant at the Midwest Culinary Institute, on the second floor of the Advanced Technology & Learning Center at Cincinnati State’s main campus, 3520 Central Parkway in Clifton. Dinner will be served at 6 p.m., with a program beginning about 6:45 p.m. News coverage is welcome.
ABOUT CINCINNATI STATE
Cincinnati State offers more than 75 associate degree and 40 certificate programs in business technologies, health and public safety, engineering technologies, humanities and sciences and information technologies. About 10,600 students were enrolled in the Late Fall 2009 term. Cincinnati State has one of the largest cooperative education programs in the United States.
ABOUT THE HEALTH CAREERS COLLABORATIVE
The Health Careers Collaborative of Greater Cincinnati was launched in 2004 to address three complementary goals:
- Provide access to health care careers for underutilized labor pools, including economically disadvantaged individuals from Cincinnati’s inner city neighborhoods, low-wage incumbent workers, displaced workers, immigrants and people with disabilities;
- Alleviate regional health care workforce shortages
- Increase the diversity of the health care workforce in Greater Cincinnati.
The partners in the collaborative are:
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Cincinnati State Technical and Community College
Dress for Success Cincinnati
Great Oaks Career Campuses
Greater Cincinnati Workforce Network
Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati
Mercy Neighborhood Ministries
Miami University of Middletown
TriHealth
U.C. Clermont College
Workforce Investment Board/Super Jobs Centers
