By GREGORY ZELLER //
New York State’s largest healthcare provider and the state’s busiest community college are teaming up to address increasing healthcare needs.
It’s no surprise that demand for healthcare services is forever increasing – the medicine is getting better, fewer things can kill you and longer-living people are more proactive about the things that can.
But that doesn’t only increase the need for doctors or even nurses – fresh reinforcements are needed up and down the healthcare spectrum, from ready bench-science researchers to willing and able clinical-care assistants.
To that end, Northwell Health and Nassau Community College have announced a new “education and scholarship program” designed to train entry-level “medical associate candidates” – healthcare assistants who can perform a wide range of tasks in a variety of outpatient settings.
Scheduled to kick off in January 2023 (registration is now underway for current Northwell employees and external candidates), the inaugural Earn & Learn Medical Assistant Program includes Northwell-funded scholarships – about $10,000 per person – for students earning medical-assistant certificates at NCC.
The one-year work/study program employs students in Northwell Health facilities while they’re completing their NCC coursework and earning their medical certificates. Students commit to working four days a week for Northwell while attending NCC classes on Fridays, Saturdays and two evenings per week; they also agree to work for Northwell for a minimum of one year upon completion of their schoolwork.
With the health system covering the tuition, the Nassau Community College Foundation has signed on to cover student book expenses for the program’s inaugural year.
Maria Conzatti: Excellence, exponentially.
These are brilliant investments, according to Nassau Community College Interim President Maria Conzatti, who noted that “the medical assistant field is expected to grow exponentially in the next five years.”
“As the largest single community college campus in New York State, Nassau Community College is happy to match the critical needs of our medical partners with the educational aspirations of people in our communities,” Conzatti added.
With coursework slated to include clinical documentation, medical terminology, anatomy, physiology, CPR, basic life-support training, medical coding and other key clinical areas – and students learning directly from licensed physicians and nurses – New York’s largest healthcare system (by number of patients and providers) certainly understands the value of its NCC investment, according to Kathleen Donovan, Northwell’s regional human resource officer in ambulatory services.
“Medical assistants are key members of the healthcare team … they are often the first clinical staff member patients encounter,” Donovan said in a statement. “We’re excited to partner with Nassau Community College to design this innovative, hands-on training program for medical assistants as we look to prepare our current and future workforce.”
