Workforce Connection Awards $1.1 Million Contract to Get Dislocated Workers into the Health Care Industry

Printer-friendly versionPDF version

LAS VEGAS, July 22, 2009 (PressReleasePoint) —The Workforce Connection Board of Directors awarded a $1.1 million contract to a coalition of local organizations to create the first partnership of its kind in Nevada geared toward rapidly moving dislocated workers toward employment in health care careers.

Workforce Connection, formerly known as the Southern Nevada Workforce Investment Board, awarded the contract to Area Health Education Center of Southern Nevada (AHEC) in partnership with the College of Southern Nevada (CSN) and the Southern Nevada Medical Industry Coalition (SNMIC). The grant will fund a workforce development program focused on providing Southern Nevadans with education, training and employment in the health care industry.

“CSN is very excited about the potential of this partnership to assist workers in gaining entry level skills,” said CSN Interim Dean of the School of Health Sciences, Dr. Patricia Castro. “The skills and experience that these workers gain can eventually be applied to other health care programs, providing opportunities for professional growth in their chosen discipline.”

The Southern Nevada Healthcare Industry Education Training and Employment Project, also known as Health Careers Project, will serve the unemployed, underemployed, recipients of public assistance, low-income individuals, seniors, veterans, and/or the disabled.

CSN will provide assessment on potential participants recruited by AHEC to determine preparedness for one of four CSN health care programs: unit health coordinator, nursing assistant, phlebotomist, and basic emergency medical technician. Qualified participants will be enrolled into one of the CSN short-term programs where they will gain internship experience at a local healthcare facility with the potential of future employment.

“This collaboration offers great opportunity to prospective students who qualify for this program to come to CSN and receive a quality education, which can then prepare them for entry level employment in health care,” said CSN Interim Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Hyla Winters. “The School of Health Sciences is the premier provider of a workforce to health care in Southern Nevada and this collaboration will assist successful participants with the opportunity to begin working and return to CSN for advancement on a career pathway.”

AHEC will provide programmatic and fiscal management, case management, and job development services for the project, and will partner with the SNMIC to conduct outreach and marketing for the project.

“Nevada is facing crisis proportion problems as a result of the economic downturn and higher than national average unemployment rates. In addition, Nevada has historically faced a health professions workforce shortage. AHEC of Southern Nevada in collaboration with CSN, SNMIC and Workforce Connection, is taking the lead in creating unique and innovative approaches to link these programs and help unemployed residents gain a meaningful career with job security,” said Rose Yuhos, president of the national AHEC organization and executive director of AHEC of Southern Nevada. “Working together as a coalition, all four of our organizations can do much more than we could separately.”

About AHEC of Southern Nevada

Since 1989, Area Health Education Center (AHEC) of Southern Nevada has served the four southernmost counties of the state as a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that provides health education, training, professional continuing education, outreach, and academic enrichment services based on need. As part of the national Area Health Education Center System of 220 centers across the country and with affiliations through schools of medicine, nursing and allied health sciences, AHEC of Southern Nevada has taken a leadership role in planning for, and addressing, many of Nevada’s critical health education, health workforce, and health-related issues by mobilizing and engaging a wide range of community organizations and academic institutions in partnerships, collaboration and cooperation.

About CSN
Founded in 1971 and educating thousands of students a semester, the College of Southern Nevada (www.csn.edu) is the state’s largest and most ethnically diverse higher education institution. CSN has three main campuses in Henderson, North Las Vegas and Las Vegas and additional sites and centers located in urban and rural Southern Nevada. The College offers more than 200 degree and certificate options in more than 130 areas of study, including 25 degree and certificate programs available entirely online. Students create flexible, personalized schedules including day, evening and weekend classes taught on three main campuses and multiple locations throughout Southern Nevada. CSN -- Your future starts here.

# # #

K.C. Brekken
Communications Manager
College of Southern Nevada
Phone: 702-651-7535
Fax: 702-651-5516

CSN's on Twitter - Come follow us at http://twitter.com/CSNCoyote!