Pine Technical College is poised to set in motion a $4.2 million grant project recently awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The project, Health Occupations Providing Economic Stimulus (HOPES), will recruit, train and employ almost 1,200 registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, certified nursing assistants, home health aides and medical laboratory technologists in east central Minnesota and western Wisconsin.
HOPES works to expand the capacity for allied health education in nursing and medical laboratory technology programs, according to PTC President Robert Musgrove. PTC’s statistics show that Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs and Pine counties in Minnesota and Burnett and Polk counties in Wisconsin are facing an escalating amount of retirees, a growing demand for health care, fewer workers, an average unemployment rate of more than nine percent and unemployed workers staying on unemployment insurance longer. In 2007, PTC responded responded by gathering partners from area school districts, higher education, healthcare providers and the workforce development center system to address a regional worker shortag and initially dubbed themselves the "Healthcare Alliance." Nearly three years later and more than two dozen partners strong, the assembly has "a vision for a strong, qualified workforce with opportunities for professional growth," according to Musgrove.
For more information about the HOPES grant and what it means to PTC and the Pine Area, read the whole story, here.
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