College gets $2.95 million grant
Flathead Valley Community College has been awarded a $2,951,196 federal grant that will fund the college’s Strengthening the Regional Nursing and Emergency Workforce” project.
The three-year project will funnel unemployed, incumbent and dislocated workers into a comprehensive health-care career ladder training program.
It is intended to fill projected openings in the health-care industry and have a positive impact on the economies of Northwest Montana and the state.
The Community-Based Job Training Grant comes from the U.S. Department of Labor.
The program will support the college’s practical nursing program that is slated to double its student enrollment from 10 to 20 students beginning this fall.
Upon approval of the Montana Board of Nursing, the program also will provide funding and resources to initiate a registered nursing program at FVCC in 2012 and launch a customized hybrid practical nursing program, in partnership with Blackfeet Community Indian Health Service Hospital, with on-site laboratory experiences to serve American Indian students beginning in 2012.
“This project will double the number of registered nurses and will more than double the number of practical nurse students being trained while improving our certified nursing assistant, emergency medical technician and paramedic programs in northwest Montana,” Vice President of Instruction Kathy Hughes said in a news release.
Key partners in the project include Blackfeet Community Indian Health Service Hospital, Community Action Partnership, Flathead Job Service, Flathead County Community Health Center, Flathead County Home Health, Heritage Place, Immanuel Lutheran Home, Kalispell Regional Medical Center, Montana Veterans Home, North Valley Hospital, Whitefish Care and Rehabilitation and Whitefish Community Foundation.
FVCC is one of 41 community colleges and organizations in the nation awarded a total of $125 million in Community-Based Job Training Grants to create opportunities for working Americans to train for high-demand occupations with the help of the nation’s community college system.
For more information, contact Colleen Unterreiner at 756-3914 or at colleenu@fvcc.edu.