Project Summary

Humility of Mary Health Partners led an effort to prepare frontline environmental, patient transport, and nutritional workers for two patient care positions: health care associate and unit clerk. The training covered occupation-specific clinical competencies and a core health care curriculum, as well as basic literacy skills depending on workers’ needs.

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“We need new ways to prepare workers and jobseekers for careers in health
care. That means going beyond simply placing jobseekers into a job and then
training them. It means working hand-in-hand—employers, education
institutions, and public workforce agencies—to create approaches that train
employees and jobseekers for the jobs the local economy will actually offer,
now and in the future. It means providing ongoing support in the workplace
to help employees build careers. It means aligning all of the various programs
in a community that can help jobseekers and incumbent workers succeed—
from job training, to financial literacy, to English as a second language—
to meet the demands of whatever industry drives that local economy.”
—Molly Seals, Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Learning,
Humility of Mary Health Partners
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Workers completed introductory courses that covered medical terminology and anatomy and physiology, followed by work-based learning in clinical competencies and departmental operations. Work-based learning is delivered through participation in patient rounds with learning coaches and preceptors.

Workers needing to upgrade their academic skills were able to enroll in on-site Adult Basic & Literacy Education (ABLE) classes, as well as a medical-readiness course, which infused health care concepts into the adult basic education curriculum. Program completers obtain a credential from the career and technical centers and an acute care apprentice credential issued from the Ohio State Apprenticeship Council. Unit clerks also receive an industry-recognized credential through national certification. Current health care associates and unit clerks can enroll in training to advance to newly established Level II positions, which come with higher pay.

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“It was a godsend. I knew I wanted to work in health care, but I didn’t
have the money to attend most training programs.”
—Jobs to Careers participant
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Training Outcomes

  • 33 frontline employees received or are currently enrolled in patient care training; 23 were promoted to health care associate or unit clerk; 10 received additional training and advanced to Level II positions.
  • 43 health care associates and unit clerks received additional training; 20 advanced to Level II positions.
  • The retention rate among Pathways employees was 92 percent.
  • 10 Pathways employees were enrolled in postsecondary education programs; 5 employees are preparing to enter postsecondary education.
  • 24 Pathways-trained employees earned a National Career Readiness Certificate through ACT Work Keys.

Benefits to Frontline Employees

  • Increased earnings and benefits in moving from part-time to full-time positions with a higher hourly rate
  • Opportunities for paid education and flexible scheduling
  • Access to employer-paid tuition assistance programs
  • Access to a health care career pathway and leadership development courses
  • Acquisition of a recognized, marketable skill set
  • Increased confidence and desire to continue learning
  • Acquisition of credentials (National Career Readiness Certificate, Ohio State Apprenticeship, Career and Technical Center)
  • Articulation with Eastern Gateway Community College

Benefits to Employers

  • Consistent with the Humility of Mary Health Partners mission
  • Greater employee productivity
  • Improved quality by standardizing the level of care
  • Increased retention, leading to lower recruitment and training costs
  • Increased employee engagement, with potential for increased patient satisfaction
  • A systematic approach to upgrading skills and addressing skill gaps
  • A “grow your own” workforce philosophy that inspires employee loyalty

Changes to Institutional Practice

  • Humility of Mary Health Partners worked with the Ohio State Apprenticeship Council to establish the health care associate and unit clerk work-based learning programs, as well as registered apprenticeship programs, providing health care associates and unit clerks with statewide credentials.
  • Humility of Mary developed Level II positions with pay increases for health care associates and unit clerks.
  • Humility of Mary worked with the county adult education system and technical education centers to establish on-site, adult basic education training that is contextualized to health care.
  • Technical education centers have adjusted their health care aid curriculum to better align with industry needs.
  • Humility of Mary plans to change the new-hire orientation to include work-based learning for clinical competencies supported by a learning coach/mentor.
  • Humility of Mary became a continuing education provider for unit clerks to help employees maintain their national certification.
  • In preparing unit clerks for the system-wide implementation of electronic medical records, Humility of Mary provided training for unit clerks to become certified electronic health records specialists.
  • The course in medical terminology articulates into credit at Eastern Gateway Community College.
  • The health system partners with Eastern Gateway Community College to deliver Career Kickoff Workshops to Humility of Mary employees, enabling them to access the FOCUS 2 Web-based career planning.
  • The Jobs to Careers coordinator transitioned to become the permanent workforce development coordinator for Humility of Mary.
  • Humility of Mary became an approved educational training provider for registered apprenticeship programs through the local Workforce Investment Board.