In the world of grants sometimes the results are subtle, or in case of the Maine Health Care Sector Grant the results jump off the page.
The grant funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, U.S. Department of Labor and managed by the Northern Maine Development Commission (NMDC)/Local Workforce Investment Board Area 1 ended June 30, but not before 1,035 people in Maine furthered their health care education. Moreover, not only did the grant fill a workforce need, it resulted in a $3.50 per hour wage increase for incumbent workers. Unemployed workers made up 25 percent of the total enrollment in the training program.
Of the nearly $4.9 million awarded to the state, about $700,000 was earmarked to train people in the health care field in Aroostook and Washington counties.
Jennifer Tweedie was one of 22 employees from TAMC (The Aroostook Medical Center) who took advantage of the opportunity. She is currently the Coordinator of Infection Prevention and Employee Services, but at the time of the training, she was a staff RN in the Emergency Department. The grant paid for all costs associated with her earning a critical care certificate.
"The course enabled me to broaden my knowledge in caring for the critically ill," she said. "In doing so, I became a more skilled nurse and was better able to provide optimum care to the patients that presented to the Emergency Department here at TAMC. Though my career path has since changed, I was able to utilize the critical care course as an elective course toward my Bachelor of Science in nursing degree from the University of Maine at Fort Kent. This allowed me to complete my degree a semester earlier and was to my benefit financially."
"We at TAMC are very pleased with the additional financial assistance provided to staff members here via the Health Care Sector Grant," said Tom Umphrey, TAMC Vice President of Employee Services. "Some individuals (22 in total) were helped in obtaining an associate's degree, others a bachelor's degree, and still others a master's degree, along with various special training aid as well. This grant is an excellent example of effective partnering between all agencies and persons involved."
"These types of industry sector partnerships are exactly what we need in our local areas," said Ryan Pelletier, director of economic and workforce development at NMDC. "Employers throughout the region that I speak with ask for two things, more funding for the incumbent workforce and WorkReady soft skills training for new hires. There isn't a lot of funding in traditional workforce programs to train existing employees, so we are constantly looking for discretionary funds such as these health care grants to support our region's employers."
Other heath care organizations taking advantage of the grant included 14 employees at the Calais Regional Hospital, six at Downeast Community Hospital in Machias, three at Highview Rehab and Living Center in Madawaska, two at Katahdin Valley Health Center in Patten, eight at St. Joseph Nursing Home in Frenchville, four at Presque Isle Rehab and Nursing Home, two at Northern Maine Medical Center in Fort Kent, and one each at Cary Medical Center in Caribou, Houlton Regional Hospital, Community Living Association and Gardiner Nursing Home in Houlton.
Northern Maine Community College benefited in two separate ways. Three employees, who train the next generation of health care workers, advanced their education and nine students participated in the grant.
"The Health Care Sector Grant was very beneficial for me as I embarked on my journey toward achieving my master's of Science Degree in Nursing," said Susan Dugal, RN who is on the nursing faculty at NMCC. "The grant allowed me to focus on academic success because I did not have to work increased hours at my second job to pay for tuition and books. This also allowed me to complete assignments on time and to graduate with my MSN in less than a year after being admitted to the program. I am thankful to have been a grant recipient and to those who wrote and administered the grant."
"This grant was unusual in that we were able to advance the education of not only unemployed workers, but also incumbent workers and even help some students attain their master's degree to relieve the bottleneck at the clinical instruction level," said Tracy Tweedie, NMDC program manager. "That is quite uncommon in the world of education grants. The purpose of this grant was to help increase the level of income for the people of Maine, both the employed and the unemployed, and underemployed. We were able to do this quite successfully and with great results."