Expanded Training Fund benefits in 2025: This year, we have limited-time first-come-first-serve opportunities for you to apply for: additional funding for Conference Travel (up to $3,500 annually for all our eligible members); more Professional Development funding (up to $500 annually for all eligible expenses); and later this year, a brand-new pilot Tuition Assistance stipend benefit that will allow eligible members to reduce their workload by up to 0.2 FTE. Stay tuned for our updates on all of these and how to apply. It’s all part of our ongoing commitment to reduce barriers and promote equity and opportunity for healthcare workers!
New Members: We welcomed MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital as a Training Fund trust employer in January, 2025, which now brings our eligible member count to a staggering 20,974 workers across WA state! And more employers will be joining us later this year, as arrangements get finalized, including: participating King County Integrated Care Network providers, Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) Seattle, and SOUND Behavioral Health. Your Training Fund is maximizing Labor/Management partnerships to help even more workers achieve their education and career goals!
Apprenticeships: We are steadily becoming the go-to leader, intermediary, and implementer of cutting-edge programs for healthcare workforce solutions in Washington and beyond. Our apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs continue to scale at a breathtaking rate: we have now implemented 24 IHAP cohorts (90% completion rate) and 28 NA-C program cohorts (86% completion rate), with a 48% transition rate from IHAP Phase 1 into the NA-C training program. The Medical Assistant (MA) apprenticeship program has implemented 24 cohorts, and we have run 17 Behavioral Health apprenticeships since 2022. Our partnerships with regional Skills Centers have also yielded five MA and PharmTech College in the High School apprenticeships to date!
A bold vision for Behavioral Health: But our work does not stop there. We are taking on bigger and bolder goals in the year ahead, including paving the way for apprenticeships and on-the-job training to articulate into higher education college credits and advanced degrees. Exciting partnerships are underway to transform Behavioral Health apprenticeships into Associates and Bachelor’s degrees… and more! Our vision is to empower learners and grow their healthcare careers, while also making behavioral education and healthcare more accessible to everyone. Stay tuned for updates and announcements on these efforts!
Through it all, the Training Fund is committed to continue driving education, innovation, and advocacy in healthcare spaces. None of this would be possible without our diverse and valued partners, innovative funders, and our passionate and hardworking staff. And none of it would be possible without YOU – your hard work, resilience, and dedication to helping patients and the community continues to inspire and motivate us. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your faith in the Training Fund and working with us to achieve a diverse and skilled healthcare workforce.
With deep gratitude and appreciation,
– Laura Hopkins, Executive Director, the Training Fund
