Hello and Happy New Year! I hope that you’re having a good start to the year. I’m very proud of what we’ve all accomplished together in 2022 and am looking ahead to serving even more healthcare workers in 2023. 

We are so excited that we were able to fund ALL members who applied for Tuition Assistance by the October 15, 2022, deadline! And we even had remaining funding to cover some members who applied after the deadline. In total, more than 600 eligible members were funded to go back to school in 2022 – this is in addition to those who are already enrolled and working hard to complete their programs. We hope even more members apply for Tuition Assistance this year to take advantage of this valuable life-changing opportunity to advance their careers.  

A warm welcome to our newest members from Providence St. Peter Hospital, Neighborcare Health, and St. Clare Hospital (Virginia Mason Franciscan Health), all of whom joined the Training Fund in 2022. This brings us to nearly 20 employers who partner with the Training Fund and SEIU Healthcare 1199NW and we now have 17,000 members! Watch our welcome video to learn more about the Training Fund. 

We are committed to diversity and equity in everything that we do to promote a healthcare workforce that looks like and represents our communities. 

Thank you for your hard work – we appreciate you and recognize that these are extremely challenging times. Together with SEIU Healthcare 1199NW and our employer partners, we are honored to support you and help you achieve your career and education goals. 

– Laura Hopkins, Executive Director, the Training Fund 

The first six participants of the ACET program alongside Training Fund staff and ACET program leaders.

On Thursday, December 1, the first six participants in the Training Fund’s new Advanced Certification for EVS Technicians (ACET) program passed their final exams!

ACET is a healthcare industry-informed 24-hour EVS professional training program that combines interactive online learning and examination with onsite training and assessment. The program supports EVS Techs in learning new skills and possibly earning a raise.

ACET is one of the many labor-management initiatives that the Training Fund has collaborated on to build a stronger, more committed healthcare workforce. Joshua Porter, Director of Labor Management Programs, had this to say about the first ACET cohort:

Building healthier communities benefits us all! Quality healthcare relies upon highly-skilled environmental service professionals, keeping our health system staff and patients safe as they deliver and receive critical care. The Training Fund is honored to announce 100% of our inaugural Advanced Certification for EVS Technicians course participants passed their final exams, earning their new ACET certifications. Join us in celebrating these incredible professionals, who strengthen our healthcare community!

As successful participants of the program, these ACET-certified EVS Techs demonstrated competence in the following areas:

• • • Promoting a culture of safety
    • Infection prevention
    • Tools & equipment
    • Waste handling
    • Green training
    • Team & patient engagement

Learn more about the ACET program by watching the video below, and visit the ACET program page to learn more.

L to R: SUDP Apprentice Malissa Kautz, Training Fund Executive Director Laura Hopkins, SUDP Mentor Jordan Brooks, Sea Mar Senior Vice President Claudia D’Allegri.

Ask anyone working in behavioral health, like licensed Substance Use Disorder Professional counselor Jordan Brooks, and they’ll tell you the same thing: behavioral health workers are needed now more than ever across Washington state. “These programs that create more behavioral health professionals are going to save lives,” Brooks says. 

The Health Care Apprenticeship Consortium (HCAC) is one such program, rising to the challenge of creating more licensed professionals and building pathways into the workforce. 

HCAC offers apprenticeship opportunities in three in-demand behavioral health career pathways: Peer Counseling, Behavioral Health Technician, and Substance Use Disorder Professional. Apprentices earn a wage while learning on-the-job and completing college coursework. 

Apprentices Earn While They Learn 

Apprentices join the program for many reasons. For Malissa Kautz, an SUDP apprentice in the Fall 2022 cohort, experiences in high school inspired her to “become a counselor to help others navigate challenging issues.” 

But after receiving her Bachelors of Arts with an emphasis in Psychology from the University of Washington, she found that she couldn’t get the sort of counseling job she wanted without a Master’s degree.  

That’s where the SUDP apprenticeship program came in, where apprentices get certified by completing paid on-the-job training and technical instruction in one or two years. Kautz learned about the program hosted at Sea Mar Tacoma Adult Inpatient Treatment Center. Hearing about the program and what the counselors were doing, she says, “ignited my curiosity.” 

Kautz has found the apprenticeship program, where apprentices complete college coursework and work in their future field while earning a full-time wage, better fits her schedule and needs. “I don’t have to worry about missing school to go to work,” Kautz says. “I’m still doing my regular job at the same time. It was an easy transition into going to school as well with this program.” 

The program allows Kautz to bring her experiences on-the-job into the classroom, and vice versa. With a small class size, she can get lots of individualized attention from her professor. “I get prompt feedback from professor as issues come up.” 

Kautz has enjoyed her experience in the apprenticeship program. “I’m grateful for this opportunity and all who are involved with the apprenticeship program,” she says. “Without this program, I wouldn’t be able to follow my ideal career path.” 

Extracurricular Support 

Apprentices receive support beyond the classroom, as well. The apprenticeship program recruits and trains mentors who are experienced professionals in their respective careers. Jordan Brooks, Program Manager at Sea Mar Turning Point in Seattle and licensed SUDP counselor, is one such mentor. 

Brooks has a Master’s degree in Addiction Counseling and joined the Sea Mar team in 2021. He is familiar with the challenges to building pathways into the behavioral health workforce. It took him two years to fulfill the state’s strict SUDP requirements. 

Brooks heralds the SUDP apprenticeship program’s effectiveness and innovative approach: “This program is more streamlined and cleared by the Department of Health, and it helps people finish it quicker and more efficiently. Also, since they are getting paid while they go to school, there is an incentive to complete the program.” 

The HCAC behavioral health apprenticeship program coordinates with mentors, apprentices, and employers to meet growing community needs around behavioral health services. With mentors, instructors, and support from HCAC, apprentices are fully equipped to meet state requirements and excel in in-demand healthcare careers. And for employers, pathways such as the HCAC apprenticeship program offers a tremendous return on investment, as it generates greater employee loyalty and higher productivity.

For more information, visit healthcareapprenticeship.org or contact Mark Beaufait, Director of Education Programs. And be sure to check out this KOMO story on the SUDP program at Sea Mar.

From a young age, Galina Barko felt called to help those in need. “My entire life I liked to help people. And especially my family in Ukraine. When my grandma got a stroke, and when my father got sick, I always liked to help out.” For her, the healthcare field is the perfect fit.

Galina is currently an Anesthesiology Tech at Spokane’s MultiCare Valley Hospital, one of the Training Fund’s partner sites. As an Anesthesiology Tech, Galina provides vital and lifesaving care for patients undergoing anesthesia in the Operating Room (OR).

From Housekeeper to Anesthesia Tech

Galina began her healthcare journey at MultiCare Deaconess Hospital as a housekeeper for seven years, first as a general housekeeper and more recently as an OR housekeeper. Support from the Training Fund has enabled Galina to advance her career in healthcare.

While she “really liked” what she was doing in the OR, Galina’s life goal was to become an Anesthesia Tech – an ambition that meant going back to school to get her CNA license. That’s where she first encountered the Training Fund.

“I asked a couple co-workers about how I could get my CNA as fast as I could. And one coworker gave me Joshua Porter’s number, and I connected with [him].” Porter, who is now Director of Labor Management Programs, was a Regional Educational Navigator (REN) with the Training Fund at that time. RENs are Training Fund staff who work one-on-one with members to connect them with resources to support their career goals.

Working with the Training Fund

Together, Joshua and Galina mapped out a career path that helped Galina utilize Training Fund services to build the necessary skills and proficiencies. “He helped me a lot,” Galina said. “He explained [to] me and gave me suggestions on…how to apply [for a CNA program], how the Training Fund can help.”

When Galina needed help improving her English, Joshua found a tutor who could continue working with her to help her succeed. Galina, whose first languages are Ukrainian and Russian, remembered that “after I completed my [CNA] course, he also brought me an idea to have a tutor, and I can work with a tutor, and the tutor can help me improve my English and give me more success. And that’s when I started to work with [Training Fund tutor] Tula Holmes. And we’ve been working together, and she has helped me out…She’s my motivator!”

What’s Next?

With Tula’s support, Galina has now set her sights even higher: a nursing degree. She has enrolled at Spokane Community College to begin preparing for the SCC Nursing Program. Asked how she was feeling, Galina replied, “Excited!…I like to be in school. Some people don’t like it, but I really like it.”

Galina values the confidence and encouragement that she received from her REN and the Training Fund: “I remember Joshua said, ‘Oh, Galina, you will be okay. You will be a good nurse. Don’t think you don’t have enough English to go to college.’ I really needed that because sometimes a new language is tough.”

Galina now advocates for the Training Fund’s programs and services among her coworkers, touting the Fund’s positive impact on her career and professional goals. Particularly after working with her tutor, Galina told everyone she knew, “You can have [a tutor] also… I told a bunch of my friends who need extra help and a free tutor!”

Galina is one of thousands of healthcare workers across Washington state who have benefitted from the Training Fund’s programs, support services, and resources, including: specialty certifications, healthcare apprenticeships, Tuition Assistance, English language support, individualized career counseling and more. The Training Fund is committed to helping its members reach their educational and career goals.