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New Education Partnership to Address Nursing Shortage
Friday, June 26, 2009
St. Louis, MO – Between restricting schedules and prohibitive costs, working nurses face many roadblocks to continuing their education. A new partnership between the St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment (SLATE) Missouri Career Center, the National Education Alliance, Bethesda Health Group (Bethesda), and Rue Education will give area nurses the help they need to advance within their profession.
The first collaboration of its kind in St. Louis, this partnership allows career Licensed Practical Nurses working at Bethesda to enroll in an educational program to become registered nurses at little or no cost to them. Distance-learning and online classes will give them the flexibility they need to feasibly complete this program in approximately two years while working full-time. This will allow them to advance their careers while continuing to earn full-time wages. Fifteen Bethesda nurses have already enrolled in the program.
Through its Workforce Investment Act (WIA) funding, SLATE will contribute training assistance that will be combined with funding facilitated by the National Education Alliance, which will be implemented by Rue Education. This partnership was established with the goal of creating more healthcare professionals within the St. Louis community. “By offering this program to those employees who have expressed a desire to pursue additional nursing education, therefore increasing their value as well as their promotion opportunities within the Bethesda organization, we are furthering part of Bethesda‘s mission to ‘provide fulfilling career opportunities’,” says Kathy Joslin, SVP of Human Resources and Marketing at Bethesda Health Group.
“This project, as with all employed worker training projects, creates a win-win situation for all parties involved. The employer is able to retain and enhance a quality workforce within their own environment and the employee is able to enhance their skills and increase their wages, while remaining employed. It is particularly beneficial to individuals with families to support that are the main or only bread winner in the family,” says Bonnie Mireles, Business Services Manager at the SLATE Missouri Career Center.
“We are honored to collaborate with SLATE and Bethesda Health Group to support the educational aspirations of this cohort of LPNs,” says Josh Williams, SVP of Community Relations for the National Education Alliance. “In partnership with Rue Education, we have been able to provide unique education opportunities to nurses throughout the country and this project with SLATE represents the best that public and private collaborations can offer to local communities.”
About SLATE Missouri Career Center
SLATE assists job seekers in finding full-time job opportunities, as well as provides skills training for qualified individuals. SLATE assists area businesses with their recruiting, employee training, labor market information, tax incentive information and other employment and training related needs.
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The SLATE Missouri Career Center is an equal opportunity employer with equal opportunity programs and services. Auxiliary aids available upon request.