The California Community Colleges system has the opportunity to alleviate the health care worker shortage that continues to plague the industry post-pandemic.
That’s according to educators, industry leaders and students who gathered at El Camino College Tuesday, Nov. 7, for a summit to address ways to improve equity and economic mobility in health care.
“There’s a tremendous shortage, period,” Sonya Christian, chancellor of California Community Colleges, said in an interview shortly before the summit. “So how do we increase the capacity of our community colleges so we can get more students graduating with a degree in nursing, a degree in respiratory care.
“In nursing, you have the certified nurse assistant, you have a medical assistant, you have the licensed vocational nurses, and then the registered nurses,” she added. “So there is so much need.”
The focus of the all-day event, co-hosted by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and El Camino College, was “Vision 2030,” a seven-year roadmap that aims to guide field practice, remove systemic barriers and usher in policy reforms in the community college system.
Among the goals of Vision 2030, which the California Community Colleges Board of Governors recently approved, is to create equitable baccalaureate attainment, as well as equitable workforce and economic development, Christian said.
They will be achieved through strategies such as expanding dual enrollment, creating more partnerships between community colleges and industries to provide apprenticeship programs and prioritizing careers in healthcare, climate, STEM and education.
“We’re all doubling down on thinking about accelerating the training options, so we are tackling the various barriers and we’re trying to pull them down,” Christian said.
She pointed to El Camino College’s new Bachelor of Science degree in respiratory care as an example of an alternative pathway for students to obtain a…
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