PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Northern Light AR Gould Hospital in Presque Isle and Northern Light Continuing Care in Mars Hill are once again partnering with MSAD 42 Adult Education to offer a free program to train certified nursing assistants.
Information sessions about the program, CNA duties, and hospital benefits will be held on March 5 in Mars Hill and March 12 in Presque Isle.
Both the hospital and the long-term/skilled care facility continue to have a shortage of trained CNAs, and they implemented this program to help “grow our own,” according to Odette Lee, RN, coordinator of the program.
“The program is critical because it allows participants to work full-time and be guaranteed a position after graduation. It is streamlined and geared towards rapid completion,” Lee said.
Participants have three options for how they want to take part in the program. For the first two options, the program is free and participants are paid as temporary employees while they are training. The difference between the two is whether they make a one year commitment working full-time or a two-year commitment working part-time at Continuing Care in Mars Hill. For the third option, participants can pay the tuition for the course and do not have any commitment to work for Northern Light Health after completion.
“Being a CNA can be a rewarding career in itself, but it is also a great way to start down the path of becoming a nurse or other healthcare professional,” Lee says. “You are learning how to work as part of a team, building communications and life skills, and getting exposure to technology such as our computer charting system. Working in healthcare in general is an excellent career today and in the future.”
To learn more about the program, two informational sessions are being held: Thursday, March 5, in the Grant Room at Continuing Care in Mars Hill and Thursday, March 12, in the conference center at AR Gould Hospital in Presque Isle. Both are scheduled from 5-6 pm. Anyone interested in potentially enrolling in the course is encouraged to attend one of these sessions to get their questions answered and pick up an application.
Submitted by the Communications Office of Northern Light AR Gould Hospital.
