Colleges in Colorado Springs working together to tackle the healthcare worker crisis
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Pikes Peak State College officials say the college tackling the state's health care crisis by offering free college degrees and certifications by utilizing a grant from Care Forward Colorado.
The initiative was made possible by Senate Bill 22-226, which dedicated $26 million in state recovery dollars to train healthcare workers across Colorado. Gov. Polis signed the bill in May 2022.
"This is created by the legislature to meet a crisis," Pikes Peak State College Marketing and Communications Executive Director Warren Epstein said. "The job openings in this town and throughout the state is staggering in healthcare fields."
“We’re talking no cost," Epstein said. "If you want to be a phlebotomist, an EMT, dental assistant, medical assistant, nursing assistant, these things are free."
Students in the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Phlebotomy Technician, Pharmacy Technician, Medical Assisting, and Dental Assisting programs can now get free tuition, fees, books, materials, and necessary vaccinations. This is on top of any financial aid a student may already qualify for.
Anyone who applies can take advantage of the free degree and certification programs at Pikes Peak State College. There are no income requirements.
Epstein says it is all to get more people into the medical field.
“I was looking at the job numbers today just for the Pikes Peak region and if you want to go into these fields, like EMT there’s 400 openings," Epstein said. "You want to be a nursing assistant, there are close to 700 openings right now.”
Certifications can be achieved in less than a year, with a 95% job placement.
“Really this is great for people who feel like, how can I help out my community and how can I help individual people," Epstein said. "This is about people who have an inner drive to be healers, and there’s so many ways to do that beyond nursing and doctoring.”
PPSC said students who are interested in the program should contact a financial aid representative.
The University of Colorado Colorado Springs College of Nursing and Health Sciences Dean Kevin Laudner says they are also doing their part to recruit prospective students into entry-level positions.
UCCS works on visiting high schools locally and nationally to spark interest in students and expose them to various aspects of the healthcare industry to go into medical fields.
Laudner also says UCCS partners with some local hospitals, who in turn pay tuition for students to increase the opportunity to get into healthcare fields.
“It's an exciting time for us because there is more interest in healthcare because of the pandemic," Laudner said. "Doctors and nurses were thrown into the spotlight if that's what you want to call it and we’ve seen a lot more students interested in going into healthcare than we have in the past.”
To learn more about UCCS healthcare programs and financial aid, visit their website.
