Archbold Medical Center| Archives Magazine | Spring 2017

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• SPRING 2017 7
REPORTS FROM the American
Association of Colleges of Nursing
suggest our current national nursing
shortage is greater than the country has
experienced since the 1960s.
And while studies show an increasing
demand for registered nurses and certified
nursing assistants (CNAs) statewide, local
healthcare experts say it’s difficult to recruit
and retain the qualified critical nursing
workforce needed to meet the demand in
rural South Georgia communities.
Archbold Memorial Hospital has taken
an innovative approach to specifically
combat the shortage of qualified CNAs,
particularly in the health system’s long-
term care facilities located in Camilla,
Pelham and Thomasville.
When money is a problem
Archbold teamed up with WorkSource
Southwest Georgia—the Workforce
Division of the Georgia Department
of Economic Development located in
Southwest Georgia—to implement a
unique on-site training program that
will help meet the needs of individuals
interested in a career as a CNA.
“We often have applicants interested
in becoming CNAs, but they don’t
always have the money to attend a
formal training program. And since the
programs can last up to two semesters,
it’s difficult for students to work and
earn income needed while attending
school at the same time,” said Julianne
Coleman, Human Resources Coordinator
for Archbold’s system hospitals and
long-term care facilities.
Though there are many other CNA
training programs available locally, the
existing programs aren’t enough to
keep up with the increasing demand for
training a much-needed qualified CNA
workforce in the South Georgia region.
Win-win
“That’s why we decided to look at
creating our own program, one that
would provide great hands-on training
and financial compensation for students
while they’re earning course credit that
meets the needs of the State of Georgia’s
existing requirements for certified nurs-
ing assistants,” Coleman said.
Archbold’s new program will be
partially funded by a federal grant
from WorkSource Southwest Georgia.
Students selected for the nine-week
training program will be hired as
Archbold employees while earning
CNA credit hours. All CNA requirements
outlined by the State of Georgia will
be followed to ensure students are
well-trained and prepared to care for
patients.
“The nine-week program will be held
at Archbold Memorial Hospital,” said
Coleman. “Students will complete clinical
rotation hours at the three Archbold
nursing homes—Glenn-Mor Nursing
Home in Thomasville, Pelham Parkway
Nursing Home in Pelham and Mitchell
Convalescent Center in Camilla.”
The inaugural Archbold CNA training
program will serve 14 students. Archbold
and WorkSource Southwest Georgia will
screen all applicants following stan-
dard employment practices, including
a face-to-face interview with program
staff and the Archbold Human Resources
department.
“The WorkSource Southwest Georgia
system is excited to leverage our
work-based resources with Archbold
to address its talent needs,” said
Charles Williams, Executive Director
of Southwest Georgia WorkSource’s
Development Board.
For more information
on the program, visit
.
ARCHBOLD CNA PROGRAM
Addressing
a shortage