HCI Seeks Stability While Adjusting to a Changing Market

09/2003—The Health Careers Institute enrolled its 900th student this year. The milestone comes as the program, which guarantees its graduates suitable jobs at member hospitals, makes the transition from a promising experiment to a vital institution.

One major step in this direction came in August, when Project for Pride in Living became HCI's permanent program administrator. “We've effectively merged the Health Careers Institute with Train to Work, a program for entry-level employment at the hospitals,” said Steve Studt of PPL. “Now we're talking about the largest hospital-based employment training program in the United States.”  

Located in the Phillips neighborhood, PPL has worked since the 1970s to assist people in becoming self-sufficient by addressing their job, affordable housing and neighborhood needs.

National Scale, Local Model

Dr. Alan Goldbloom, the new CEO of Children's Hospitals and Clinics, toured HCI in March and offered this assessment: “The program has orchestrated the many essential resources found close at hand -- meaning everything from the student population to the whole instructional apparatus to the job sources. This is a great example of a health community enriching its future through creative problem-solving and hard work.”

The Minneapolis Community and Technical College delivers HCI's coursework at classrooms in a medical office building situated between Abbott Northwestern and Children's Hospitals, two of the sponsoring organizations. The third, Hennepin County Medical Center, is a short bus ride away.

“This setup provides maximum accessibility to our students, most of whom live nearby, work at the hospitals or both,” said Jane Foote, MCTC's Dean of Health Sciences and Human Services.

Of more than 900 students to take HCI classes, 541 have had tuition sponsored by the program.

“ When you remove the barriers to education and training, people benefit, the employers benefit, and the community benefits. I could bet that of the students whose tuition the HCI sponsored, nine of 10 wouldn't have gone to school, ” said Mary Rosenthal, HCI's previous administrator.

Program Adjusts to Economic Changes

In 2000, the three member hospitals were feeling the strain of competing in a flush economy. They had openings for 80 nursing assistants. Working with the Phillips Partnership, they created the HCI as an experimental program to recruit capable students who otherwise might not have had access to career education. The program has since placed nearly 300 graduates in new or more advanced healthcare jobs at the hospitals.

The program has prepared students for work as health unit coordinators, phlebotomists, medical technicians, insurance coders and transcriptionists. It has also offered general college courses such as English, psychology, nutrition and computer literacy that lead to nursing degrees.

Philanthropic outreach has resulted in significant contributions, including a $25,000 grant in March from General Mills.

Despite these successes, state funding cuts to MCTC have created some uncertainty about the program's ability to expand its training services to positions farther up the career ladder. Moreover, the program's 2003 budget and enrollment have been reduced because of the recession's impact on job vacancies. Fewer new jobs are being created, and turnover has also declined in a number of job categories.

Yet the member hospitals continue to describe a strong need for nurses and some need for surgical technicians and health unit coordinators. In response, HCI will narrow its class offerings to those three categories. Its recruitment efforts will likewise narrow to hospital employees wanting career advancement and local Empowerment Zone residents interested in pursuing nursing degrees.

HCI will continue to fund scholarships for sponsored students, although nursing students recruited from the Empowerment Zone likely will have their tuition paid by the City of Minneapolis.  

These changes keep the essential structure and market-driven mission of the HCI intact. They also will allow the program to resume expanded training quickly as demand warrants.

Three Years of the Health Careers Institute in Phillips

• 541 sponsored students enrolled in HCI classes.
• Another 365 students (unsponsored) took college credit classes at HCI.
• 21 percent live in Phillips neighborhood.
• 55 percent work in Phillips neighborhood (in participating hospitals).
• 36 percent are recent immigrants.
• 13 percent moved off public assistance.
• 131 graduates hired by participating hospitals.
• 165 entry-level hospital employees moved up career ladders and upgraded their skills.
• HCI is starting a new cohort of nursing students in the fall term, 2003; eight of the 20 live in the Phillips neighborhood.