‘Foot in the Door’ Healthcare Opportunities for Low-income Students

Innovations ConferenceMarch 4-7, 2012

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Pat Copeland, Dean, Health and Human ServicesElizabeth Patterson, Allied Health Director, FacultyJohn House, CATCH Director

Developing Aspirations, Transforming Livestrans·for·ma·tion A marked change, as in appearance or character, usually for the better. A change or alteration, especially a radical one.

“I have changed by being an example to my children. I find study time becomes family study time. My children ask me many questions about my homework . I answer with excitement in my voice. My family outlook is bright because I now can tell my children we will not be on TANF after I get working in my new career.”

“I didn't really understand why I needed the CATCH Life Skills course, but later on I saw how it really helped me in my other classes, and in my life.”

“I passed my exam!! I’m so happy!”

“Thank you so much for taking the time to help me. I am super excited about possibly working with youth, and it really helped me hear someone else say that I might be good at it. I will look at the links, and thank you again, SO much!”

“I started my GED testing. I've taken Writing, Reading, and Social Studies and passed all 3 so far! Tuesday I take Science and Math so wish me luck! I'm determined to get this done so I can get into the CATCH Program!”

The overarching CATCH goal – to close the gap between underlying poverty in Snohomish County, WA and regional job shortages in healthcare.

• Affordable Care Act → Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Program → Administration for Children and Families → U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

• Year two of a 5-year project : $1.4 million awarded for the first year of a 5-year project, and $1.6 million for each remaining year

• Promising Practices – e .g., IBEST, e-learning, student learning communities, learning labs, wraparound services –integrate and expand to improve training and employment outcomes.

• Navigators and dedicated advising staff help participants understand the various systems necessary for success and how to navigate these systems.

• Dynamic partnership grounded in tailored MOUs

• A demonstration project: demonstrating the feasibility of new methods and practices

Program Characteristics:

Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG)

TANFColleges CommunityAgencies

Employersand WIBs WorkFirst

(Welfare-to-Work) & Basic Food

Employment and TrainingEmployment Security –

WorkSource

Housing Hope –Homelessness Services

Workforce Development Council

(Navigators)

Business Access – In-Home Learning Experts

TRAC Associates – Career Services

Refugee and Immigrant Services

Washington Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board

Washington State Apprenticeship and Training Council

Building ChangesFoundation

Edmonds Community CollegeEverett Community College

Under One Umbrella

Health Careers for All: King County HPOG Grant

(WA State)

“I became homeless,” said Luz, 40, who spent the last year living in her car to staying in transitional housing. “I received TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), which helps you get by. But then a counselor at a shelter offered me a new program.”

• Help low-income students and students of color complete their education and obtain market-valued credentials (Aligned with Achieving-the-Dream Mission)

• Anticipate and overcome barriers

• Provide quicker, condensed training without comprising rigor, content, and competencies

• Emphasize employability skills

• Meet emerging workforce needs in the health care industry

• Stimulate economic development locally

• Foster continuous learning

• Generate student transformations and raise aspiration levels

Creating ACCESS to CAREERS in HealthcareCreating Possibilities by Widening the Doorway of Opportunity:

Creating ACCESS to CAREERS in Healthcare• Build training capacity at Edmonds and Everett Community Colleges

• Put people to work faster while maintaining rigor and by including College/Career Success and Digital Literacy skill development

• Increase access to training through innovative curriculum design (e.g., development of hybrid course content and I-BEST-model for healthcare training curricula).

• Training on three levels:

• Foundational level (introducing individuals to healthcare careers and preparing them to participate in occupational, college-level training)

• Entry level (such as nurse assistant, restorative aide, phlebotomy technician, EKG/monitor technician)

• More advanced level (such as clinical laboratory assistant, medical assistant, health unit coordinator, and patient care technician).

Inching the Door Open – Low-Income Students and College Success:

• Eliminate costs

• Accelerate training

• Provide technology, technology training, and

• Increase support through I-BEST model

• Minimize barriers using hybrid instruction

• Frontload college success skills

• Promote employability

• Foster learning communities (promotes help-seeking)

• Wrap-Around and ‘package’ social supports

dedicated technology support

Capacity Building Partnerships for System Change:

• TANF, WorkFirst, BFET

• Employment security

• WIBs

• Colleges

• Employers

• Community service providers

• In-home learning experts

Building partnerships: Lessons learned

a Customized MOUsa Crucial conversationsa Knowledge managementa Communication Student voice How to leverage funds Colocation with partners

Skill Progression / Pathway Progression

Sample Health Care Career PathwaysPhlebotomy → clinical lab assistant → medical technologistNurse assistant → patient care tech → LPN → registered nurseNursing Assistant → Patient Care TechnicianNursing Assistant → Health Unit CoordinatorNursing Assistant → Monitor Technician

CATCH Pathway

Readiness-to-Benefit Assessment → College Success Course → Digital Literacy

Course → Hybrid and IBEST-Supported Prerequisite Courses → Labs with

Integral Online Content and Skills → Clinical Externships → • Employment• Advanced Certificates/Degrees• Employment and Advanced Certificates/Degrees

ä Explore Other Options/Enhance Skills

Technology / Blended Learning Model –CATCH Technology Resources:

Online learning communities supporting vulnerable populations

• Coach/Mentor

• Phone, Online and E-mail Technical Support

• Hardware, Internet Access, Software

• Tracking and Reporting: Daily, Weekly Reporting

Blended Learning - Learning labs and hybrid classrooms:

• Online classroom instruction – PowerPoint, lecture notes, videos, discussion boards, online testing

• Hands on clinical skills lab – required, checklist of hands on skills that must be signed off by an instructor prior to capstone clinical externship

• Open skills labs for supplemental practice

• IBEST online and on-ground support

Practical Strategies / Lessons learned Instruction – view from the classroom

Online instruction relies heavily on reading and writing skills. Use IBEST to support these basic skills; identify issues early and use additional college resources i.e. Learning Support Center, tutors, bridge classes

Accelerated programs move at a fast pace for both the student and the instructor.

• “Be there, be present and visible”

• “How am I doing”?

• “Turn on a dime”

• “It’s too much!”

• “Learn and fugged about it”

• “I’m just going to stand here until someone tells me what to do”

• “That’s it, I quit!”

• “What happens outside the classroom, stays outside the classroom”

• “Do not dumb down your program”

Practical Strategies / Lessons Learned:Online and Hybrid Instruction:

• Scale-up considerations: Work closely with college systems to anticipate increased demand and alert to novel situations.

• High-speed internet connection providers’ download speeds and connectivity can vary. Test different providers before committing.

• Convene available technical support staff to identify system incompatibilities, e.g. BlackBoard and Internet Explorer.

• Enhance the integration of syllabi by meeting more regularly Anticipate and plan for the intensity of online instruction.

• Increase online mentor’s on-ground availability to students.

CATCH Navigation / Social SupportsPhilosophy of CATCH Navigation:

• Gain knowledge of community and local systems

• Form partnerships with students to confront the information-and-support-seeking requirements of today’s social and educational systems

• Anticipate and overcome barriers to success

• Leverage, facilitate and broker college and community service systems

• Assess and promote use of natural supports

• Foster self-determination

Practical Strategies / Lessons LearnedNon-instructional Supports:

• Define non-instructional support infrastructure

• Create strategies to notify and engage partners across the systems

• Foster early bonding to campus and vision as a college student

• Encourage social relationships through learning communities

• Scaffold curriculum components to increase student success

• Offer intensive tutoring interventions early

• Build multiple course tracks with multiple start points

Student Spotlight

Nina Prigodich, EvCC CATCH StudentCompleted Work-Ready Certificates in Nursing Assistant and Phlebotomy

• Referral Partner: Immigrant and Refugee Services NW

• Strength: Persistence, Passed WA State Nursing Assistant Written Exam on 2nd Attempt

• Outcome: Landed a job in less than three months. Working as a CNA at Prestige Care and Rehab in Edmonds, WA

• Next Step: Land a Phlebotomy Tech Position

“I am very thankful for the CATCH Program and all of its staff. Because of this program, I finally found a job that I like and I have many new opportunities because of this experience. Now I feel much more happier about my life.” Nina Prigodich

- What do you notice about Nina?

Thank You! Pat Copeland, Dean, Health and Human Servicespcopelan@email.edcc.edu, 425-640-1316

Elizabeth Patterson, Allied Health Education Director, Facultyelizabeth.patterson@edcc.edu, 425-640-1061

John House, CATCH DirectorJohn.house@edcc.edu, 425-640-1851

Additional CATCH Information: http://www.edcc.edu/CATCH/

Additional HPOG Funding Information: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2010pres/09d/state_charts.html

This document was supported by Grant 90FX0025-02-00 from the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health & Human services

(HHS). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of HHS.