Swope Health, Metropolitan Community College and the Full Employment Council have partnered to establish a high-quality, six-month program to train certified medical assistants at no cost for most participants.
To be considered for the program, students must interview and submit to background checks. Once hired into the apprenticeship program, participants will be trained from curriculum designed and delivered by Swope Health and MCC healthcare professionals. The first student cohort will begin in June 2025, with two cohort groups of 6-10 students to be trained per year. Upon successful completion of the program, students will be prepared to take the National Healthcareer Association’s (NHA’s) certification exam to become a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA).
To secure funding for the program, the FEC worked to have the training course designated as an approved apprenticeship through the U.S. Department of Labor. The FEC has provided more than 500 registered apprenticeships since 2015.
“Full Employment Council is enthusiastic about connecting local workers with good, quality jobs at Swope Health,” said Full Employment Council CEO Clyde McQueen. “Apprenticeship has been a proven pathway to developing individuals to advance them within careers, while helping employers address workforce challenges.”
MCC Chancellor Dr. Kimberly Beatty said the partnership exemplifies the College’s commitment to serving communities and creating opportunities for all.
“MCC works incredibly hard to meet the evolving needs of our students and community, and that includes by responding proactively when it comes to addressing shortages in the workforce,” she said.
“By joining forces with Swope Health and the Full Employment Council, we’re creating affordable career pathways for our students, but we’re also going a long way toward meeting the healthcare needs of the area’s most vulnerable populations.”
While the first few sessions will meet virtually, the program will later transition to a hybrid format, with classes held at Swope Health Central and MCC-Penn Valley’s Health Science Institute in state-of-the-art lab spaces.
In addition, high-level discussions have begun about hosting the program within Swope Health Village, Swope Health’s 12-acre, multi-phased campus that is due to break ground later this year, as part of a potential healthcare workforce training center. Eventually, the training program will expand to include other in-demand healthcare positions.
Providing accessible, compassionate healthcare requires strategy and teamwork,” said Swope Health President and CEO Jeron L. Ravin, J.D. “At Swope Health, we know that medical assistants are an extremely important part of medical teams. It is therefore gratifying to team with MCC and the Full Employment Council to help ensure that more well-skilled, compassionate medical professionals will be developed to reduce the primary care shortage and provide the patients in our region with the high-quality, comprehensive care they deserve.”
Those interested in applying for the program should contact Reneé Sutherland, Swope Health Director of Talent Acquisition, at rsutherland@swopehealth.org.