Savannah Tech working to get nurse aids into the field faster

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) – On Monday, nurse’s aid students at Savannah Tech will begin new classes. Since they are in such high demand, the school is now offering an accelerated course to get students into the workforce sooner.

The training traditionally takes 2 semesters, but now Savannah Tech is offering the course in under 8 weeks by having classes 8 hours a day twice a week.

During the course, the students learn about a wide variety of patient care. The things health officials call the basics when it comes to taking care of someone. For example, how to help them dress, bathe and eat. Once the skills are mastered the students can get out and get to work at hospitals, assisted living and long-term care facilities.

The instructor at Savannah Tech says the new workload is challenging but beneficial not only for the students but especially to fill the need and the demand in the community. “I get calls and emails almost daily, ‘do you have any graduates who are ready to come to work,” said Jennifer Judson, the CNA instructor at Savannah Technical College. “With that in mind we know that this type of training and this type of healthcare person is very much needed in our community.”

The newest semester starts on Monday and Judson says there are still spots left and they’re still accepting applications. If now isn’t the best time for you or someone you know who’s interested in the program they will be offering the accelerated nurse aid training 5 times a year to help get more workers in local facilities.

At Memorial Health in Savannah, they had almost 40 patient care technician positions open. But thanks to several hiring events over the last month they’ve been able to fill nearly all of them. Staff say there are now just 6 left to fill.

Katie Van Hook is the Associate Chief Nursing Officer at Memorial says a shortage of patient care technicians and certified nurse assistants isn’t all that uncommon because of how often the needs and demands change in a hospital setting. She says there will never be a point when there’s no positions open, but of course keeping the number of open positions on the lower end of the spectrum is the goal.

“Sometimes we have patients that come into the hospital that need one-on-one care and so we have to provide that to them because it’s a safety issue. So, we end up pulling from our PCT’s, CNA’s to go be with that patient and then that leaves us a need on the floor,” said Van Hook said.

Since they know there will always be a need for additional staff not just during a pandemic, they will be hosting another hiring event on Tuesday March 8. There will be hospital representative at the 5 Spot in Sandfly from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Anyone is welcome to come learn more about PCT, CNA positions as well as a number of other opportunities at the hospital.

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