Sanford Health commits $1M for health care careers

Career paths in health care will soon be more accessible for students in the community as Sanford Health, Bemidji State University (BSU), Northwest Technical College (NTC) and Bemidji High School work together through a public-private partnership for the Sanford CARES —Collaborative Alliance for Regional Healthcare Educational Services — initiative. As part of the program, Sanford Health is committing $1 million over the next five years to ensure that the Bemidji area’s need for additional skilled health care staff is met.

“While we are blessed to provide much-needed health carethroughout our community, we are facing an elderly population that will doublebetween 2010 and 2030, creating a growing need for health professionals to carefor them,” said President of Sanford Health of Northern Minnesota, BryanNermoe. “Sanford Health, Bemidji State University, Northwest Technical Collegeand Bemidji High School are taking steps together to address this need.”

A 2017 regional survey by the Department of Employment andEconomic Justice found that employers reported nearly 1,500 open positions inBeltrami County alone, with six of the top 40 positions in demand being in thehealthcare industry. Sanford Bemidji on average has over 120 open positions atany given time.

The Sanford CARES initiative will address these concerns byenhancing the opportunities for students to engage as health care professionalsat all levels from high school to college to the workforce. Expanding theculture of caring, the program will also focus on the patient experience,health care service and delivery as well as employee retention. After these twotiers of the initiative are applied over the next five years, the program willidentify and build new programming to adapt to the community’s needs.

Starting at the high school level, Sanford is sponsoringBemidji High School’s Healthcare Explorers Chapter starting in school year2019-2020, an extracurricular activity for students 14-20 years old who areinterested in health care careers. This will involve biweekly meetings on theSanford campus including tours, hands-on experiences, speakers, simulations andother activities to increase direct observation of various jobs and departmentsin hospital, clinic and senior living facilities.

Beginning in the 2019-2020 school year, Sanford is funding aBemidji High School career academy position to assist students in the healthcare academy. To aid in learning, they will provide Sanford staff assistancefor student instruction. Sanford will also continue to offer 10-weekvolunteering opportunities over the summers to all Bemidji High School healthcare academy students. These students who also participate in Certified NursingAssistant (CNA) certification, spending half of their time or more at Sanford,will receive free logoed scrubs.

In collaboration with Bemidji High School, which will offer arelated curriculum, Sanford is providing the high school with simulationmannequins and equipment for students to practice with and gain first-handtraining experiences in the classroom as well as train Bemidji High Schoolinstructors on how to use the mannequins.

Carrying this level of commitment from high school to highereducation, Sanford is partnering with BSU and NTC to expand its current healthcare programming. The schools will aim to recruit, enroll and graduate morestudents to meet the area workforce demands, as well as work alongside BemidjiHigh School to align curricula to support job opportunities and ensure consistencyin coursework across institutions.

Sanford is sponsoring Scrub Camp opportunities hosted by BSUfor student participants from Beltrami, Clearwater, Hubbard and Koochichingcounties who are interested in pursuing a career in the medical field. Duringthese camps, Sanford is also providing access to facilities, speakers,simulation labs and an overview of health care jobs and departments.

Sanford Bemidji currently offers $250,000 annually inscholarships, tuition reimbursement and internships for CNAs, LicensedPractical Nurses (LPNs), Registered Nurses (RNs) and other health carepositions. They hire over 100 graduates each year from BSU and NTC’s RN, LPN andCNA programs.

In collaboration with NTC’s LPN program, Sanford is providing an additional $72,000 in forgivable loan scholarships to new LPN students who will commit to work for Sanford Health as LPNs for 24 months post-graduation/licensure. In addition, Sanford is providing tuition for nine CNA training sessions this year and similar training session schedules for the four years following.

Source: Bemidji State University