Public Employee Press

New Ed Fund course helps 20 at HHC upgrade skills

Union members looking to upgrade their skills can now take the DC 37 Education Fund's new Certified Nursing Assistant course. The union launched the classes in March with 20 students studying at the City University's York College campus in Jamaica, Queens.

The course requires 100 classroom hours and 30 clinical hours. The students finish their work on July 23 and will be eligible for the state exam that would qualify them as Certified Nursing Assistants, who are eligible for positions at nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

"The course has been a huge success with DC 37 members," said Education Fund Assistant Director Helen Lowe Chappell. "We already have a waiting list of 114 members for the next class."

Patient Care Technician Rhonda Lewis at Bellevue Hospital took advantage of the course. "I've wanted to do something like this for a long time," said the Local 420 member. "Maybe I can get a part-time job at a nursing home."

In September, the course will also be offered at a second location, Hostos Community College in the Bronx. To enroll in the course, members must have a high school diploma or a General Equivalency Diploma and score 8.0 on a reading diagnostic test that the Education Fund will administer.

For more information about the course and to get an application, members can contact Helen Lowe Chappell at 212-815-1700.