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UVa Hoping for January Start of First Rung Training!

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Report to IMPACT’s 9th Annual Assembly by Trish Cluff, Associate Vice President for Strategic Relations and Marketing

Thank you for the opportunity to update you on the University of Virginia Health System’s commitment to workforce education including IMPACT’s First Rung Healthcare Careers Collaborative.

A key part of the University of Virginia Health System’s mission is the training of health professionals, within a culture that promotes equity, diversity and inclusiveness.

As I shared with you in April, recognizing the need for additional workforce development, the UVA System is pursuing a foundation grant to advance the first rung concept.

Since I was with you in April, the UVA Health System completed a feasibility study, identified strategic partners including Charlottesville Works – a nonprofit affiliate of the Charlottesville Area Chamber of Commerce and Piedmont Virginia Community College, and submitted our grant application that included a letter for support from President Sullivan.

 The UVA Health System proposes to identify and engage 50 unemployed or underemployed young adults ages 18 to 25 for skills training, mentoring, education and employment to equip them for an upwardly mobile career path in healthcare.

This pilot program is a collaborative effort led by UVA among multiple partners, joined through memorandums of agreement, to provide resources, community work skills training, education and mentoring for success. Charlottesville Works Initiative has a mission to reduce underemployment, unemployment, and eliminate poverty.

It has hired community-embedded Peers, identified through both community and self-references, who use a triage tool, developed in partnership with the UVA Curry School of Education, to detect soft skills and life management resources that candidates might need to succeed, such as childcare, transportation, and other assistance. These Peers are well connected and respected in the community and specifically selected for their familiarity with the challenges young adults face in overcoming poverty.

Before continuing with the training program, UVA Health System Human Resources will provide job-shadowing opportunities to ensure awareness of job responsibilities. Piedmont Virginia Community College will provide workplace readiness and other soft skills. Upon completion of soft skills and Certified Nursing Assistant training, candidates will be eligible to apply for entry-level employment at the UVA Health System as Patient Care Assistants.

Participants that fulfill UVA employment application requirements, including criminal record checks and shadowing experiences, will begin employment as an entry-level UVA Patient Care Assistant. Once hired by UVA, additional employee mentorship and training will be provided to complement on-going community Peer support that will remain in place during the first 12 months of employment. We anticipate that participants, starting as no-or-low income, will become Patient Care Assistants earning an average hourly salary of $12.99, advancing within twelve months to a Patient Care Technician earning an average of $13.82, representing a 6% increase.

The training candidates receive equips them with a career path opportunity, even if they choose to seek employment outside of UVA following their training.

As of today, we know we were successful in receiving preliminary acceptance for further consideration.

On November 7th, we will learn of the Trustees decision to support our grant proposal. Anticipating Foundation support, we plan to implement our Career Path in Healthcare program in January 2015. Over the next two years, we participate 50 individuals completing the program and begin their health care career.

We will update IMPACT leadership as soon as we learn of the Foundation decision. The Health System would like to thank Bob Bayer, John Frazee, Sarah Peaslee, Mary Preston and Josh Scott for their collaboration.

Crime & Drugs Elected as Ministry’s New Focus

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Election of Crime at Drugs as New Focus

Content for this post was taken from the Daily Progress coverage of our 9th Annual Assembly.

Annual Assembly 2014

For years, Loretta Martin said, her sister has battled drug and alcohol abuse without being able to find adequate rehabilitation programs close to her family. She has been to programs in Richmond and Roanoke, but is “incapable of finding help on her own,” Martin said. She has been turned away from a psychiatric ward and can’t find housing.

“If there was some program for women with alcohol and drug problems in the local areas, families could stay connected and then the healing could begin,” Martin said. “I pray that she is okay and that God will continue to watch after her. Am I my sister’s keeper? Yes, I am. And I and my family will fight to find the care that she needs.

Martin’s story led to the Interfaith Movement Promoting Action by Congregating Together, IMPACT, choosing drugs and crime as its next project.

The nonprofit group, comprised of 27 Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Unitarian Universalist congregations across Charlottesville and Albemarle County, met Monday evening to direct its focus on drugs and crime, housing or education.

Along with Martin, three other members told their stories and leaders encouraged voters to think about their own experiences to make a decision.

Mallika Rodriguez, a single mother, spoke about her struggle to find affordable, convenient and high-quality childcare. She said she had a hard time finding childcare that was able to work with her job schedule, which could change weekly.

“Sometimes when I’ve found a child care center that offered this flexible coverage, I found myself disappointed by the quality of the actual programs, the facilities or even the staff,” Rodriguez said.

Statistics provided from Child Care Aware show that, in 2011, Virginians typically paid between $8,300 and $10,650 a year for full-time care for infants and toddlers. In comparison, the 2012 in-state tuition at the University of Virginia was just more than $12,000.

Stephanie and Dominique Eley told their story of homelessness, stemming from the inability for both of them to keep a job expecting their child. They went through several houses, but never had to spend a night on the streets due to help they received from churches. They are now working with Habitat for Humanity to build their own home.

According to Habitat for Humanity, about 4,000 families in Charlottesville spend more than half of their income on housing.

Of the 254 votes cast Monday, crime and drugs received 116, housing received 80 and education received the remaining 58. Members from 24 congregations voted.

The night also featured a progress report on two earlier initiatives: young adult unemployment and youth mental health.

Through working with IMPACT, UVa Health Systems has applied for a grant that would allow it to take 50 unemployed or underemployed young adults, aged 18-25, for skills training, mentoring and education to help them get employment in the healthcare field, said Patricia Cluff, associate vice president for strategic relations and marketing for UVa Health Systems.

After completion of the program, candidates will then be able to apply for entry level positions at UVa Health Systems.

As for youth mental health, both Fluvanna and Greene counties have been able to install telepsychiatry equipment to help children get psychiatric services, said Region Ten Executive Director Robert Johnson.