Allied health programs offer quick path to careers

By: Mike Gavin
Published: September 14, 2020

SPINDALE (Aug. 18, 2020) — Three innovative career pathways in the allied health fields are now available at Isothermal Community College and, thanks to a valuable partnership, the tuition is reimbursed after the student starts the class successfully.

The SECU Bridge to Career program, created by the State Employees Credit Union Foundation, has provided the college $15,000 for individual scholarships for these short-term certification classes that lead to high-demand jobs.

“We are very excited that the State Employees Credit Union has provided this funding,” said Betsy Cuthbertson, Isothermal’s Allied Health coordinator. “This will offer so much help to our students as they take these classes.”

The first offering — a Nurse Aide class paired with a Medication Aide class — starts as early as September 1. Those certifications allow a person to work in a wide variety of healthcare settings from nursing homes to home health providers.

In November, two other course pairings begin. One is Phlebotomy paired with a Medical Assistant program. The other is Healthcare Billing and Coding, also paired with a Medical Assistant program. The Healthcare Billing and Coding class will be online, while the others are offered face-to-face.

Each class will also have a Human Resources Development portion that teaches students soft skills including time management and workplace behavior.
These certificate programs will prepare the students for state and national credentials in all of these areas.

The students will receive a check for $500 after they complete the first portion of the class, an amount that actually is more than the cost of tuition.

“The normal cost for these classes is $185 for each one, except for the Medication Aide class which runs $85,” said Cuthbertson. “So the Nurse Aide/Medication Aide pathway would be $270 and the other two pathways would be $370. Thanks to the SECU Foundation, we’ll be able to offer them to North Carolina residents free of charge plus they’ll have a little extra cash left over to offset any other expenses they incur in taking the classes.”

For more information or to register, contact Cuthbertson at bcuthbertson@isothermal.edu or 828-395-1675.

Category: Spindale Campus

Keywords: health programs, quick paths to careers