CCRI secures $1.8M to train health care workers

The Community College of Rhode Island working with U.S. Sen. Jack Reed has secured $1.8 million in federal funds to recruit, train and retain health care workers, Reed announced on Wednesday.

“In Rhode Island, the demand for registered nurses and other health care professionals is expected to grow faster than supply through at least 2020,” Reed wrote in a letter to the Secretary of Labor. “CCRI is in a unique position to affect work force development in Rhode Island as it is the only community college in the state.”

The funds will be used over three years to improve student recruitment and retention, provide professional development for nursing and allied health faculty, and expand the pool of clinical sites and clinical faculty, according to the release.

CCRI will offer comprehensive academic and student support services designed to address the needs of nursing and other health sciences students.

“This grant will have a very positive and very real impact on the health care work force in Rhode Island,” said Thomas Sepe, CCRI president.

The state’s Department of Labor and Training anticipates that during the 2002 to 2012 projection period, nearly one-quarter of new jobs in Rhode Island are expected to be in health care.

The grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration’s Community-Based Job Training Grant program, which awards funding to community colleges to train workers for local industries and occupations that are expected to experience high growth and areas where demand for qualified workers is outstripping the supply.