Health Careers Fair gives hope to students, residents in time of bleak job market
Justina Price and Stephanie Hicks exemplify that old adage, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going."
In October, when they and numerous others lost their jobs at a Union County plant that closed, the future looked bleak.
But they have children to support, and instead of feeling sorry for themselves, the high school graduates enrolled at the Adult Learning Center on the Henderson Community College campus to brush up on their academic skills.
In a few months, they plan to become college students in a two-year program that will change their resume description from "factory worker" to "medical assistant."
As medical assistants, they are likely to be employed in doctors' offices, doing everything from processing insurance to taking patient vital signs and giving immunizations.
On Wednesday, they were among some 200 equally ambitious individuals who were checking out health care industry job prospects at Henderson Community College's annual Health Careers Fair.
Many of those browsing the tables in the Henderson Fine Arts Center lobby already are taking courses for their health care goals, and some will graduate this spring.
Price and Hicks had visited a number of the 20 booths manned by recruiters from a wide variety of facilities and programs, including area hospitals, nursing homes, a medical air lift service, and the U.S. Army.
Because industry participants were handing out "freebies", the two women had accumulated backpacks, weekly planners, Army T-shirts and "lots of pens."
Hicks, 36, said the event had further inspired her to "push myself and go over the limit to get an education and provide for my family. It's never too late to go back and do anything you want to do."
Price, 38, agreed, and said, "We've had to get our priorities straight."
Their tuition will be paid through a displaced workers program.
The ladies are entering health care professions at the ideal time, as this area and the nation as a whole are seeing significant shortages in RNs and LPNs, as well as a growing need for laboratory technicians, radiology technicians, respiratory therapists, and a host of other positions including medical assistants.
New RNs can expect to make about $18-$20 an hour at entry level, and LPNs can earn about $12-$15 hourly.
All of the recruiters interviewed by The Gleaner at the careers fair indicated that "Everyone is having shortages."
A representative of the U.S. Army said Uncle Sam always needs more medical personnel because the military trains them and then after their three-year tours of duty they are apt to leave for high-paying civilian positions.
Nationally, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics anticipates that some 233,000 additional jobs will open for registered nurses annually through 2016.
Julie Hape, RN and business development director for Select Specialty Hospital in Evansville, said Wednesday that "Everybody is looking for qualified nurses."
That 60-bed downtown hospital is a long-term, acute care facility whose patients stay an average of 30-40 days.
Hape had brought about 100 job applications with her to the fair, and had only one left shortly after 11 a.m. The fair had begun at 10 a.m.
Henderson's Methodist Hospital, which started the day with 200 give-away backpacks and 100 water bottles, had only a few backpacks left during the fair's second hour, and no water bottles.
The hospital currently has openings for seven RNs.
The Air Evac Lifeteam that operates out of Deaconess Hospital was seeking nurses and paramedics, noting that RNs who staff the helicopters must have at least three years of critical care experience.
HCC's associate degree nursing program continues to draw numerous applicants each year, and maintains a waiting list.
Program Director Mary Gail Wilder said the nursing school, as it has for years, has two freshman classes each academic year and graduates about 60 students each May.
Neither those graduates nor students in the school's LPN program are apt to have difficulty finding jobs. The most recent practical nurse graduating class consisted of 14 individuals, all of whom are employed in area health care facilities.
A Deaconess Hospital nursing recruiter reported that institution will hire 100 or more RNs this spring.
Cheryl Farmer, a second year student in the HCC nursing program, commutes from Owensboro to attend classes.
She hasn't yet decided her nursing specialty, but believes she might want to be a surgical nurse. "I'll do an observation this semester, and that will help me decide," she said.
Farmer is pleased with the opportunities that await her.
"Nursing is such a diverse career," she said. "You can do anything and go anywhere."
