Unitek Helps Transform California Workforce Through Nursing Programs

Newport Beach, CA – Unitek Learning has announced an educational partnership with Community Health System to strengthen the California workforce and offer greater access to their nursing programs. These organizations share the same vision and philosophy of improving their communities through improved access to education and healthcare. Together, they can use this academic-practice partnership to tackle workforce vacancies and positively impact others.

“Partnering with Community is a great opportunity for us to collaborate and address the healthcare needs of the Central Valley,” said Karilyn Van Oosten, VP of Strategic Business Development at Unitek Learning. “Our partnership will allow Unitek Learning and Unitek College to become part of the solution. We are honored they chose us to help them build their workforce and tackle this issue at the root cause.”

Community Health System is a private, not-for-profit healthcare network based in Fresno County, and the largest private employer in the region. Community cares for more people in the region than any other provider. In addition, Community is committed to being an employer of choice and strives to provide top-notch care to support the health and wellbeing of those in need.

Community Health System is made up of three entities: Community Medical Centers, is a network of four hospitals, a cancer institute, and several other medical facilities; Community Provider Network is a fast-growing network of nearly 400 primary and specialty care providers; and Community Care Health is one of the largest HMOs in the region and offers local businesses medical insurance options for their employees. These three pillars of healthcare— hospitals, physicians, and health insurance—provide Central Valley families with integrated and comprehensive care.

By partnering with Unitek, future nurses will train in the Community Medical Centers’ facilities and Community’s team members who participate in the program will receive a specialized tuition rate for nursing programs at Unitek College.

“This partnership allows us to support employees who want to grow their careers with Community and invest in creating opportunities for the diverse workforce throughout our community,” said Danny Davis, Chief Nursing Officer at Community Health System.

“At Unitek, we are committed to education and workforce alignment so that the next generation can thrive,” said Janis Paulson, Chief Executive Officer at Unitek Learning. “We’re honored to join forces with Community and help transform the California workforce. The nursing shortage is here to stay, and we need to build academic-practice partnerships to solve these shortages and strengthen our communities.”

Unitek Learning is the parent company of several distinguished learning institutions: Unitek College, Unitek Training Healthcare, Unitek EMT, Eagle Gate College, Provo College, and Brookline College. Unitek programs teach the clinical practices and theory used in the field today. Equipped with a multitude of sought-after skills, Unitek graduates are prepared to excel in many of the fastest-growing careers in health care and nursing.

To find out how to take advantage of all this partnership affords, call 888.382.8183 or contact us today.

Unitek employee shines light on nurse recruitment in rural Nevada.

Newport Beach, California – Unitek Learning is thrilled to announce that Dr. Victoria Rondez Squier, the Practical Nursing Program Director in Reno, Nevada, has been highlighted as a pioneering leader in the Nevada Nursing Association (NNA) Newsletter. Access to healthcare is one of the biggest challenges that rural communities face. With a deficit of more than 5,000 nurses in the state, Nevada rural communities are greatly impacted by the nation-wide nursing shortage. One of Dr. Squier’s primary goals is to break down barriers that are faced by educators and practitioners in these areas.

“We are so proud of Dr. Squier’s work in rural nurse recruitment,” said Janis Paulson, Chief Executive Officer at Unitek Learning. “Through government-funded grants and incentives for career development, this call-to-action could help combat workforce shortage crises and better support communities across Nevada. We believe equity, inclusion, and innovation are vital when it comes to supporting the future of healthcare.”

The Nevada nursing community now has an additional partner to help retain more nurses. Joseph Filippi, Jr., the Workforce Program Manager with the Nevada Rural Hospital Partners, manages the Nurse Apprentice Program (NAP) Grant, which is funded by the U.S. Department of the Treasury American Rescue Plan ACT (ARPA). According to the NNA newsletter, a grant of $20,000,000 has been allotted to the NAP to attract nursing students in Nevada. These targeted regions include rural critical access hospitals and skilled nursing facilities.

“Additional training around research and advocacy may be necessary to obtain new hires,” said Dr. Squier, Practical Nursing Program Director at Unitek College. “The NAP is a partnership opportunity that begins to address the unique needs of our nurses in remote communities. When I think about these nursing prospects, I am so excited for the future of healthcare and nurses in rural areas. It is truly an honor to represent Unitek and advocate our shared purpose, vision, and core values.”

Dr. Victoria Rondez Squier, DNP, MSN, RN, CNL, NE-BC, EBP-C, is a results-driven leader with more than 16 years of experience in acute care. Some of her areas of expertise include orthopedics, oncology, telemetry, pediatrics, telehealth, and leadership. Throughout her career, Dr. Squier has served as a nurse leader who is passionate about preparing future generations of nurses. In addition, she is the president elect of the Nevada Nurses Association (NNA) in District 1. Dr. Squier is now the Practical Nursing Program Director for Unitek College in Reno, Nevada.

Unitek Learning is the parent company of several distinguished learning institutions: Unitek College, Unitek EMT, Eagle Gate College, Provo College, and Brookline College. Unitek programs teach the clinical practices and theory used in the field today. Equipped with a multitude of sought-after skills, Unitek graduates are prepared to excel in many of the fastest-growing careers in healthcare and nursing.

Partnership with Futuro Health Builds a Better Care Economy for California

Newport Beach, California – Before COVID-19, California had a projected need of approximately 500,000 allied healthcare workers by 2024. The pandemic has only created a greater need throughout the state. To help address this critical demand, Unitek Learning partnered with Futuro Health starting in 2021. As of today, more than 507 Futuro Health students have enrolled or started the Medical Assisting program at Unitek. Through this partnership, both organizations seek to produce qualified healthcare workers.

“The state of the world has demonstrated an increased demand for a strong workforce,” said Karilyn Van Oosten, VP of Strategic Business Development at Unitek Learning. “Our partnership with Futuro Health has allowed Unitek Learning to become part of the solution. We want to help create the career-ready workforce that California’s healthcare providers need.”

By joining this partnership, Unitek Learning has provided Medical Assistant training to individuals sponsored by Futuro Health – whose student demographics consist of 80% diversity, 51% bilingual and an average age of 30. “Futuro Health continues to gather public and private higher education institutions to respond to the call of healthcare sector for skilled workers,” explained Van Ton-Quinlivan, CEO of Futuro Health. “Together, our ecosystem of partners commit to growing a diverse, reliable, and trained workforce that meets the needs of healthcare employers across California and the nation.”

Employers are invited to seek out Futuro Health graduates by contacting Unitek at partnership@unitek.com or Futuro Health at partnership@futurohealth.org. In addition to Unitek’s training, every student also completes Futuro Health’s signature Human Touch Healthcare(tm) coursework that emphasizes six interpersonal skills essential to roles in care.

“We’re honored to strengthen our partnership with Futuro Health,” said Janis Paulson, Chief Executive Officer at Unitek Learning. “Like Futuro Health, we think that investing in education and skills training will result in better-paying jobs for workers, better care for patients, and better workers for employers to hire. At Unitek Learning, we believe that an exceptional healthcare education will lead to healthier communities.”

About Unitek Learning: Unitek Learning is the parent company of several distinguished learning institutions: Unitek College, Unitek EMT, Eagle Gate College, Provo College, and Brookline College. Unitek programs teach the clinical practices and theory used in the field today. Equipped with a multitude of sought-after skills, Unitek graduates are prepared to excel in
many of the fastest-growing careers in healthcare and nursing.

About Futuro Health: Futuro Health is a non-profit organization focused on improving the health and wealth of communities by growing the largest network of allied healthcare workers in the nation. Futuro Health makes education journeys into allied health careers possible by growing the talent that employers need and creating a path to the opportunity that workers want.