St. Tammany bureau
Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
Copyright 2006 The Times-Picayune Publishing Company
Careers That Heal, a program created through a partnership of the St. Tammany Healthcare Alliance, the First Planning District Workforce Investment Board and Delgado Community College Northshore, aims to address what health-care experts call a critical shortage of workers in the region.
North shore area hospitals report that in the next five years they will need to hire more than 5,500 health care professionals. Certified nurse assistants, EKG technicians, phlebotomists, surgical technicians, respiratory technicians, EMTs, dialysis technicians and other high-demand health care professionals are needed on the north shore.
Careers That Heal began its first classes in July. More than 100 students are enrolled in allied health care skills training.
Careers That Heal is again accepting applications for the second session of the EMT-Basic 100 class only. This class will be held on Monday and Wednesday evenings beginning Oct. 9 and continuing through Dec. 6.
Applications are currently available and are being accepted at Delgado’s Covington and Slidell offices. These classes are free.
This course provides an introduction to basic life support treatment of sick and injured patients in a pre-hospital setting.
The Emergency Medical Technician basic course prepares students for jobs with ambulance services, hospitals, casinos, offshore companies and anywhere else that emergency health care is needed.
All students wishing to enter the program must have a high school diploma or GED. In addition, students must take a placement test and meet the required score in math, English and reading established by Delgado.
For more information, call Jeanne Boudreaux or Jan Robert at Careers That Heal at (985) 871-8506 or stop by the Delgado office in Slidell or Covington to complete an application.