b'LICENSED NURSE ASSISTANT TRAINING PROGRAMLauren RousseauWORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST I HUMAN RESOURCES Tory KimballRN, BSN, NURSE EDUCATOR I FORREST D. MCKERLEY SIMULATION AND EDUCATION CENTER I feel fortunate that I came across a program that paid me to go to school. I was able to begin a career in health care.One of Concord Hospital health systems recruitment and retention strategies is to partner with local academic institutions and create internal training programs that can support, develop and license people into high demand, high need clinical positions. The Licensed Nurse Assistant (LNA) role is one of those critical positions. Beginning back with our initial partner, New Hampshire Technical Institute (NHTI) worked closely with Concord Hospital nursing and human resource teams to launch our first grow your own LNA training program. This program is a combination of clinical didactic classroom learning paired with on-site, hospital-based clinical practicum hours. The students are enrolled into the program as employees and earning an income while they are learning the discipline. The program prepares studentsto practice as nursing assistants providing direct patient care and become a valued member of the care team. At the end of the eight (8) week program, students can take the state certified exam. In addition to earning a wage while training, the students also receive 100 percent of tuition reimbursement paid for by Concord Hospital. In return, the graduate LNAs commit to working within the health system for a minimum of two years. Emily Jerome, LNA on the 5 South team at Concord Hospital, was one of the original students in our first LNA program cohort. She reflected, I feel fortunate that I came across a program that paid me to go to school. It was difficult finding a career path during the pandemic and with this training program I was able to begin a career in healthcare. As we have evolved the program, we have also expanded our academic institution partnerships. Now working with Lakes Region Community College (LRCC) and Manchester Community College (MCC), we will be hosting additional eight week sessions to support growth and interest in the program which will ultimately attract and strengthen our LNA workforce for the health systems three hospitals: Concord Hospital, Concord Hospital - Laconia and Concord Hospital - Franklin. Since its inception, we have successfully transitioned 12 LNAs into practice. We will be starting another session in the spring with hopes of running three to four sessions a year. A special thanks to all the nursing teams, leaders and resources that are available to the LNA students through the application process, during their training program and after their transition to practice. One of our nurse educators, Tory Kimball, shared, These programs help individuals, who may not know how to get started or have the means to do so, enter the healthcare field to begin successful careers. It is a rewarding venture for me to be a part of. programs to provide our community and employees with new opportunities is the mostrewarding part of my role.These educational programs are crucial to providing alternative pathways to those that are looking to further their knowledge or move into a career within health care. Being able to develop Lauren Rousseau (l); Tori Kimball, RN,BSN (r)Lauren Rousseau P E O P L E | I N T E G R A T I O N | T R A N S F O R M A T I O N14'