Enrollment has soared in the Anoka-Ramsey Community College non-credit certified nursing assistant/home health aide (CNA/HHA) program since it was launched in February 2011.Demand was immediate both to attend the program and for graduates of the program. To date nearly 300 students have graduated from the non-credit program.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, overall employment of nursing and psychiatric aides is projected to grow 18 percent between 2008 and 2018, faster than the average for all occupations. Employment for nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants will grow 19 percent, predominantly in response to the long-term care needs of an increasing elderly population.

“The healthcare industry needs our graduates,” says the program manager, Diane Sibley. “Our aging population is increasing and those in need of long term care in both facility and home settings are on the rise.  Quality, compassionate nursing assistants and home health aides are needed in long term care facilities, assisted living facilities, home care settings, hospitals, group homes, hospices, rehabilitation facilities, hospitals and private homes.”

One recent graduate is Sam Anderson, a Cambridge, Minn. resident with a bachelor’s degree. With only the 77 hours of program training, Anderson was able to find satisfying work in this ever-growing field.

“CNA's provide a foundation in long-term care facilities,” says Anderson, who one day hopes to be an emergency room nurse. "CNA’s help residents with all the activities of daily living, needs most fundamental to health and well-being, while supporting the need to feel dignified and cared for.”

CNA/HHAs certified through the Anoka-Ramsey program are registered by the Minnesota CNA State Registry after successful completion of the state nursing assistant test required for employment in long-term care facilities throughout Minnesota. Students learn basic nursing skills under the supervision and guidance of registered nurses and they practice in laboratories and clinical environments.

The cost for the program is $745 plus an optional textbook, and there are several program options at both the Cambridge and Coon Rapids campuses. Saturday classes are offered continually throughout the year. Evening classes also run continually, though the actual days they are offered may vary. A limited number of weekday classes are also offered. Accelerated daytime classes are offered in February and throughout the summer. Saturdays will continue to be available in the summer and some evenings. The full class schedule can be viewed at http://anokaramsey.augusoft.net/. Students may register at that site as well.

Anderson took the Saturday option in the nursing lab at the Anoka-Ramsey Community College Cambridge Campus.

“The classes are a mixture of lecture and hands-on experience,” Anderson says of the program. “The lab is set up with mannequins, beds, linens, lifts and everything needed to see skills demonstrated and then to practice them. My class culminated in a three-day clinical at GracePointe Crossing in Cambridge.”

“I sleep well at night knowing that our students are treating their clients with dignity and respect while providing quality care,” adds Sibley. “Our instructors are passionate about providing exceptional care and instilling that passion into the standards of care expected from our students.”

Interested individuals from the Cambridge Campus may be eligible for tuition assistance for the CNA/HHA program through a U.S. Department of Labor grant awarded to the Healthcare Alliance. For more information, call 320-629-4570.

For more information about non-credit healthcare programs at Anoka-Ramsey Community College, contact the Anoka-Ramsey Community College Professional Training Center at 763-433-1200. 

Anoka-Ramsey Community College Certified Nursing Assistant graduate, Sam Anderson, is one of nearly 300 students who have graduated from the program since it was launched a year ago.