Training & Workforce Options helps to ‘up-skill’ medical assistants
Top row, from left: Sophie Pise, Kate Winslow, Zuleka Otero, Meghan Lapierre, Kelly Galindez, Kayla Cronkright, Diane Hernandez, Lillian Colon, Barbara Ortiz, Kristin Morin. Bottom row, from left: Wilmairy Burgos, Brenda Santiago, Natalie Sanchez-Rodriguez, Lydia Mazza, Ruth Ayala
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – When Holyoke Medical Center and Western Mass Physician Associates needed help enhancing the skills of their medical assistants, they partnered with Training & Workforce Options (TWO).
TWO developed a curriculum and taught a 10-week class to 15 medical assistants from WMPA. The training was designed to prepare the workers for a national credentialing exam. The TWO course at Holyoke Community College was a hybrid of classroom work and online learning taught by a medical assistant.
An additional 25 medical assistants from Holyoke Medical Center Specialty Practices enrolled in a second round of training.
TWO, a collaboration between HCC and Springfield Technical Community College, is designed to deliver high-quality, custom training solutions to the business community to boost bottom line performance and productivity.
Wilmairy Burgos participates in TWO training.
“At TWO, we provide training for a range of businesses throughout the region,” said Sharon Grundel, director of corporate training: healthcare, nonprofits and government services. “To keep pace with new technologies in the workplace, employers realize that they must invest in skills-training to retain good workers, especially in a strong economy.”
Grundel described the training TWO provided to the healthcare workforce as “up-skilling.”
“Up-skilling is any education, training or development program that prepares employees with the knowledge and skills needed to advance their careers,” Grundel said. “And companies realize that when they invest in employees, retention improves, and that is good for the bottom line.”
Up-skilling – a smaller investment than hiring and training a new worker – serves to create a more well-rounded, cross-trained workforce, Grundel explained.
“Investing in employees is good for business in multiple ways, especially at the entry and direct-care level,” she said. “It helps boost morale. Employees who have training and development opportunities are happier in their roles and have a bright outlook on their future with the company. And that means increased customer satisfaction. When employees are happier with their company and believe in what they are working toward, they do better work.”
Natalie Sanchez-Rodriguez takes the blood pressure of Brenda Santiago.
Holyoke Medical Center and Western Mass Physician Associates – both members of Valley Health Systems – teamed up with TWO to “up-skill” the medical assistants who are a critical part of their workforce, Grundel said.
Medical assistants perform a wide array of clinical and administrative duties that require a range of technical, clinical and administrative skills. Some medical assistants learn through their years of working on the job, while others are formally educated.
As healthcare becomes more technically advanced, medical assistants are facing more federal regulations to work in the field. It is becoming more difficult for members of this profession to secure employment without credentialing.
With assistance from TWO, Western Mass Physician Associates received grant funding from the Workforce Training Fund (workforcetrainingfund.org) to provide this training opportunity to 15 medical assistants in preparation for a national credentialing exam. TWO offered a second round of training to the 25 medical assistants from Holyoke Medical Center Specialty Practices.
In addition to classroom learning, Holyoke Medical Center and Western Mass Physician Associates developed and staffed a full-scale “Skills Day” for all trainees. The session included 10 hands-on stations covering clinical and administrative tasks such as checking vital signs, administering injections and medication, taking EKG measurements, among other competency tests.
“Medical Assistants are the indispensable backbone of a provider office. The review course collaboration between Training & Workforce Options and HMC Specialty Medical Offices & Western Mass Physician Associates prepares medical assistants to pass a credentialing exam that will showcase their professionalism and high level of competency,” said Kristin Morin, MSN, RN, quality manager for Holyoke Medical Center Specialty Practices and Western Mass Physician Associates. “We are very proud of this exceptional program that supports our continued commitment to healthcare staff education and to providing the best medical care the Valley has to offer.”
For more information about how your business may qualify for grant funds and the benefits of working with TWO, contact Sharon Grundel: SAGrundel@stcc.edu or 413-755-4396.
To see job opportunities in this field, click here.
About Training & Workforce Options (TWO):
Training & Workforce Options (TWO) is a formal workforce development collaborative of Springfield Technical and Holyoke Community College designed to optimize employer access to high quality training and education at affordable rates. TWO offers customized employee training, organizational planning, workforce needs assessments and assistance with Workforce Training Fund applications.
Between the two colleges there are dozens of training disciplines offered that complement and strengthen one another. TWO is capable of designing and customizing any curriculum to meet employer needs, and will train on-site or at either of the colleges.
About Holyoke Medical Center:
Holyoke Medical Center (HMC) is a 198-bed independent community hospital with over 1,300 employees serving individuals and families throughout the cities and towns of the Pioneer Valley. The medical staff includes more than 375 physicians and consulting staff. Holyoke Medical Center is a nationally-accredited hospital and received a 2016 Top Hospital Award from the Leapfrog Group for excellence in quality of care and patient safety. This full-service hospital provides a complete line of inpatient and outpatient medical and surgical services, including an award-winning birthing center with the first Baby Friendly designation status in the region. Holyoke Medical Center’s award-winning Stroke Service has been consistently recognized as one of the best in the state for the past decade and has received the 2018 Get with the Guidelines Stroke Gold Quality Achievement Award with Target: Stroke Elite Plus Honor Roll from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Holyoke Medical Center is a member of Valley Health Systems in Holyoke which also includes the affiliates Holyoke Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice Life Care, Western Mass Physician Associates and River Valley Counseling Center. To learn more, visit HolyokeHealth.com
CONTACT:
Sharon Grundel, TWO
413-755-4396, SAGrundel@stcc.edu