Banner receives $1.2 million from Maricopa County for health care workforce development
04/01/2022
The program offers job shadowing,
mentorships opportunities, and
support services to help employees
gain skills and experience to move
into essential frontline health care roles.
Maricopa County recently awarded the Banner Health Foundation $1.2 million to expand its Career Pathways for Essential Frontline Healthcare Workers program for entry-level staff. The program offers job shadowing, mentorships opportunities, and support services such as transportation and childcare to help employees gain skills and experience to move into essential frontline health care roles.
The program will support employees currently working in environmental services, culinary services, and patient transport positions to develop the competencies and skills necessary for high-need jobs with higher salaries, including medical assistants, certified nursing assistants, patient care assistants, and technician roles in behavioral health, central sterile processing, pharmacy, and education. Special emphasis will be placed on educating and training employees who may not have graduated from high school due to access, language barriers, homelessness, and other socioeconomic factors.
“Health care professionals across a variety of specialty areas have long been in high demand as Arizona’s population ages. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these shortages in front-line, essential health care workers who are critical to daily hospital system operations,” says Julie Ann Alvarado-Dubek, Chief Human Resources Officer for Banner Health. “Recognizing this need, Banner created the Career Pathways program to simultaneously build a pipeline of talent to fill critical bedside care roles while also supporting the aspirations of our current workforce.”
Once enrolled in the program, employees are matched with a mentor that builds a personalized action plan to meet the education, experience, and assistance needs of each employee. Through tools and technology, job shadowing and mentorships, and transportation and child-care, the Career Pathways team will work side-by-side with pathway employees to support them in a strategic movement to a new role.
In line with Banner Health’s aim to diversify and provide equitable opportunities to everyone, the Career Pathways program will be accessible to diverse candidates who bring rich experiences, unique perspectives, varied backgrounds, and critical foreign-language skills to their roles.
Maricopa County Human Services Department awarded 12 organizations a collective $14.5 million for workforce development initiatives as part of an overarching strategy to help families, individuals, and businesses recover from the effects of the pandemic. The funds are part of Maricopa County’s $435 million allocation of the federal American Rescue Plan Act being awarded to qualified partner agencies that will deliver a wide variety of services to both job seekers and employers.
“Maricopa County is a great place to build a career and it's why we've been ranked No. 1 for attracting skilled workers two years in a row,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Gates, District 3. "This funding will make our economy even stronger by assisting folks who need additional skills or resources to secure and maintain a good-paying job. By partnering with local organizations with proven track records of success in job training and coaching, we'll give individuals and families upward mobility and help in-demand industries get the skilled workers they need.”