October 10, 2022
Grant to fund regional health care career opportunities
Kaiser Permanente has announced funding to support employment and job-training programs to connect more people to high-demand health care careers.
PRESS RELEASE
Contacts: Linnae Riesen
Linnae.M.Riesen@kp.org
206-316-0224
Mary Grace Antony
425-919-7365
mgantony@healthcareerfund.org
SEATTLE — Kaiser Permanente Washington has announced more than $750,000 in funding for the Service Employees International Union Healthcare 1199NW Multi-Employer Training and Education Fund. The Training Fund also works with employers, unions, and government agencies as the Health Care Apprenticeship Consortium to support health care career pathway programs. These programs match the diversity of our Washington communities and bring underrepresented and economically disadvantaged individuals into health care occupations. This work helps to alleviate ongoing staffing shortages in hospitals and health care facilities.
Funding from Kaiser Permanente will expand and enhance 2 regional career pathways to prepare people from various racial and ethnic backgrounds and other underserved communities for careers in health care. The effort is in partnership with the Seattle Jobs Initiative. The programs will create access to entry-level occupations with support to advance a career pathway of the participant’s choosing, while also promoting equity, advancement, and livable wages.
“We continue to see ongoing demand for health care workers across the state to address increasing care needs,” said Jocelynne McAdory, vice president of human resources and community health at Kaiser Permanente Washington. “Health care jobs are critically important for the health of our community, and these career-connected pipelines and learning experiences will help expand diversity and the skilled pool of health care talent in Washington.”
The grant from Kaiser Permanente includes funds for the Training Fund to embed financial literacy and coaching into their program support offerings. This is intended to facilitate upward mobility and financial security for participants.
Within 3 years, the provided funding will support 5 health care worker cohorts that will move through Introduction to Healthcare Employment and Apprenticeship Programs. These are health care exploration and apprenticeship preparatory programs that provide certified nursing assistant certification, health care basic skills, and professional development experiences, in alignment with career pathways like apprenticeships.
The funding will also support 13 additional cohorts through the Advanced Certification for Environmental Services Technicians certificate program. This program enables individuals currently working in lower wage and entry-level health care roles opportunities to develop their skills, promotes quality patient care, and establishes a path to career advancement and possible wage gains.
“We are very excited and grateful for Kaiser Permanente’s partnership in helping to diversify and support community members entering into health care,” said Laura Hopkins, executive director at the Training Fund. “Their support will make a big difference in the health care sector.”
The Training Fund, based in Renton, is a labor-management partnership that supports innovative training, education, and career development for health care workers and health care employers, including at Kaiser Permanente. The Training Fund maximizes employee talents, proactively meets industry needs, and ensures high-quality patient care through a diverse and skilled health care workforce. The Health Care Apprenticeship Consortium is a partnership created to provide all health care employers within Washington state access to the benefits of skilled apprenticeship training for their workforce.
In addition to Kaiser Permanente, the Training Fund also serves health care employers and health care employees at UW Medicine, MultiCare, Swedish Medical Center, and Virginia Mason Franciscan Health facilities, among others.
About SEIU Healthcare 1199NW Multi-Employer Training and Education Fund
The SEIU Healthcare 1199NW Multi-Employer Training and Education Fund (Training Fund) is a non-profit 501(c)3 labor-management partnership founded in 2009. We are dedicated to innovative training, education, and career development for healthcare workers that maximizes their talents, proactively meets industry needs, and ensures high-quality patient care through a diverse and skilled healthcare workforce. The Health Care Apprenticeship Consortium (HCAC) is a multi-union and multi-employer Washington State-registered Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee, and is administered and sponsored by the Training Fund with a wide range of partners, open to all Washington healthcare employers.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 12.6 million members in 8 states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal Permanente Medical Group physicians, specialists, and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery, and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education, and the support of community health.
