| Health care "seemed like a good fit," for Learn to Earn, said Mincey, because of the high demand and available training in the field
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| Tuesday
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Being in the hospital for a month with pneumonia in the middle of classes put Stacy Carter behind financially.
For Joy Chadwick, balancing the demands of a newborn son with her third semester in a nursing program grew difficult.
United Way's Learn to Earn program has helped them both through the hardship, along with dozens of other health care workers aiming to upgrade their skills, jobs and income.
"I'm really thankful," said Carter, now a licensed practical nurse at Hillcrest North Nursing Home. "We were really behind on our bills, and I probably couldn't have done it without (United Way's) help."
Learn to Earn gives up to $7,500 to health care workers with household incomes no more than 150 percent of the poverty level, allowing them to gain the education and experience they need to move from low-wage jobs to better-paying positions.
The program enrolls participants in classes, works with community agencies to provide support services such as transportation or child care, helps with job placement and provides ongoing case management.
United Way gave a $200,000 Community Impact Grant to the University of Tennessee's Work Achievement Values Education (WAVE) work-readiness program to administer Learn to Earn, and Knox County pitched in another $64,000.
"While training, most (participants) can't work full time," WAVE director Bethany Mincey said. "Learn to Earn is able to fill in the gaps - as far as books, supplies and living expenses - to get through training."
When participants began the program, Mincey said, they made an average of $10.04 an hour, but at graduation, participants earned an average of $14.31 an hour.
Chadwick, now a registered nurse at St. Mary's Medical Center, completed her training after having her first child.
"(Learn to Earn) allowed me to stay home with my son," she said. "Instead of working on top of going to school with a newborn, I was able to just go to school with a newborn."
Not only did Learn to Earn give Chadwick time to spend with her son, it also helped her manage time.
"It put a lot of fears aside with becoming a mother," said Chadwick. "It allowed me to establish a routine and to focus on my studies. … It really allowed me to put the finishing touches on my clinical skills and get me ready to graduate and prepare myself to be on my own as a nurse."
According to Mincey, 44 of 49 participants last year graduated, two will graduate in the next four months and five graduates already have enrolled for additional training on their own.
Health care "seemed like a good fit," for Learn to Earn, said Mincey, because of the high demand and available training in the field.
"We knew that there was such a demand for health care jobs and there's training available for advanced degrees," she said. "You can train them all day long, but if the jobs aren't there it doesn't benefit (participants)."
There has been some discussion about including other careers, such as teaching, in the program, Mincey said. "We'd love to open it up to other occupations if there's a demand and training for the jobs. Right now, health care is the best fit for this model."source
How to Become a Nurse |
posted by blogger @ 12:00
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