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Catholic Medical Center partnership with ApprenticeshipNH

Catholic Medical Center (CMC) Medical assistant apprentices are recognized for completing classroom portion of the program.
Catholic Medical Center (CMC) apprentices pose for a photo with instructors during recent pinning and graduation ceremony.

Partnership created: April 2018

The need:

Catholic Medical Center (CMC) was in need of a structured training program that would create a pipeline for filling in-demand LNA (Licensed Nursing Assistant) and MA (Medical Assistant) positions, which play critical roles on their medical team. The hospital was also interested in a training and retention program, and a pathway that would open the doors for current employees who held positions in other departments – such as housekeeping – who aspired to transition into a healthcare-specific position that offered more connectivity to the patient.

The role of ApprenticeshipNH:

ApprenticeshipNH worked with CMC to create Registered Apprenticeship standards and served as the conduit and coordinator between the college that would provide the training – in this case, Manchester Community College – to build MA and LNA programs that would meet the hospital’s specific needs. ApprenticeshipNH assisted apprentices with scholarship grants and located employer-specific grants that would support dollars associated with implementing an MA and LNA Registered Apprenticeship program. ApprenticeshipNH also worked with the college instructors to ensure that training programs aligned to any specific needs or requirements CMC had for these positions.

Programs implemented:

Medical Assistant (MA)

A 12-week program with 8 weeks of classroom instruction at Manchester Community College and 4 weeks of hands-on clinical work. Upon completion of the 12-week program, apprentices need 3,600 hours of on the job training at CMC to complete the program.

Licensed Nursing Assistant (LNA)

A 5-week program of classroom instruction followed by the required clinical work for licensure. Apprentices then complete 2,000 hours of on the job training at CMC.

Total cohorts:

MA – 3 cohorts

LNA – 3 cohorts

“Manchester Community College and the ApprenticeshipNH folks that we worked with closely have been absolutely amazing partners. They have been really collaborative with us, they have been really in tune to the needs that we have as a company, they listened to what our specific needs are for our employees, and we have really been able to customize the programs exactly to those needs,” said Emily Gaudette, director of organizational development at Catholic Medical Center.

The numbers:

The combined programs enrolled 47 apprentices. As of May 2020, 41 were employed at CMC – a retention rate of 87%. Of the 41, 22 are MAs and 19 are LNAs.

Funding provided:

Total grant dollars received for MA and LNA related instruction: $44,000*

Supportive services to help offset the cost of books and supplies paid directly to apprentices: $4,500

What’s next:

The creation of a surgical technician Registered Apprenticeship program.

ROI:

Finding, training and hiring LNAs and MAs is a significant challenge in New Hampshire and nationally. Being able to partner with ApprenticeshipNH to fill 41 positions with individuals that are trained specifically for their roles at CMC and with hands-on, on-site experience is a huge boost for the hospital. The 91% retention rate during the process proved that the upfront investment for instruction and training had a significant return on investment.

*CMC is one of the largest apprenticeship sponsors in the State of New Hampshire

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