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New Certified Nursing Assistant class begins
next month
at the hospital |
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August 19, 2015 |
by Marcia Morman
Boundary Community Hospital
Director of Marketing and Communications
Boundary Community Hospital provides classes to
earn certification as a Certified Nursing
Assistant (CNA)
 four times a year. These classes
are a great way to be eligible for steady work.
A new class will begin Tuesday, September 28 and
continue through November 19, 2015.
CNA training can begin as early as age 16 with
no maximum age limit. A high school or college
diploma is not a prerequisite for either the
training or the certification. Graduates of the
class are work ready.
Class meets at the Fry Healthcare Education
Center, across from the hospital, from 8:00 a.m.
to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday of each
week.
“A tremendous savings in gasoline and lunch
expenses is realized because the hospital is
willing to teach the classes in Bonners Ferry,”
says Boundary Community Hospital’s spokesperson,
Marcia Morman. “This is a commitment to
bettering the community that the hospital has
offered for years. Many, many local people have
taken the classes.“
Tracey Maas, RN, has been a CNA instructor since
the 1990s.”Tracey Maas is a compassionate and
knowledgeable instructor working with the
students to succeed in learning the subject
material,” Morman enthused.
Many advantages exist for both men and women as
Certified Nursing Assistants. Instructor Tracey
Maas explains, “They are the back-bone of the
healthcare system.”
A CNA has a wide-range of employment options.
Employers hire CNAs to work in hospitals,
assisted living homes, nursing homes, home care
agencies, rehabilitation centers, doctor’s
offices, outpatient medical and surgical
offices, hospices, respite care, group homes,
and in schools.
Choices available to CNAs include working with
children, with the elderly, and with any age
in-between. For instance, many elderly people
want to stay in their own home, but need some
assistance with daily living. Often a CNA is
qualified to offer that needed care. Many times
indirect care like housekeeping and running
errands are part of the CNA’s job. On the other
end of the age spectrum, children with long-term
problems and needs can receive good care in the
comfort of their homes with assistance from a
CNA.
Often CNAs decide that they want to further
their education in the healthcare field and go
back to school for a Licensed Practical Nurse or
Registered Nurse degree. A CNA certification is
an educational requirement for becoming a
Licensed Practical Nurse or Registered Nurse in
many nursing programs.
Boundary Community Hospital employs nearly forty
CNAs as full-time, part-time and per diem
employees. Some have worked in our community
hospital for many years; others are recent
graduates of the CNA class.
Boundary Community Hospital’s CNA class is in
affiliation with North Idaho College and is a
State of Idaho certified course. The course
consists of 120 hours of instruction: 80 hours
in the classroom and 40 hours of clinical
experience. At the end of the 120 hours of
training, the student will take a certification
examination at the North Idaho Workforce
Training Center in Post Falls, Idaho.
When certified, the Nursing Assistant can work
throughout the State of Idaho and within those
states that have a reciprocity agreement with
the State of Idaho.
If you are interested in the class, contact
Tracey Maas about this professional occupation
offered locally. Call today, (208) 267-3141
extension 4312, or email, tracey.m@bcch.org.
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