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A fledgling program at Fort Belknap Indian Reservation’s Aaniiih Nakoda College got a boost from the state Thursday.
The state donated medical examination tables to the college’s certified nursing assistant apprenticeship program, which Aaniiih Nakoda College nursing program assistant and apprenticeship coordinator Marcie Brockie said stared in 2015-16.
“The tables … will be able to expand the services we provide to our CNAs,” Brockie, who was one of the college representatives accepting the tables in Helena Thursday, said this morning.
Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney, Department of Administration Director John Lewis and Department of Labor and Industry Commissioner Galen Hollenbaugh presented the tables to the college.
A release from Montana Department of Labor and Industry said Lewis donated the unused tables to the Department of Labor and Industry with a goal to find a new purpose supporting a health care apprenticeship. The tables transferred to Aaniiih Nakoda will help students complete the clinical portion of the apprenticeship curriculum. The tables could help the program take on more students in the coming years as interest in the program increases.
“We are thrilled to transfer needed medical equipment to Aaniiih Nakoda and further its ability to recruit and train students in the skills they need to find good-paying jobs in their communities,” the release reports Lewis said Thursday.
Brockie said this morning that the apprenticeship program grew out of a pilot project started by Gov. Steve Bullock to help get and keep workers in rural areas. Aaniiih Nakoda College decided to start a CNA apprenticeship, which works alongside its “Grow Our Own Nurses” associate of science in nursing program.
She said the college has been recruiting students — including in the high schools — to enroll in the CNA program, which is comparatively short.
The grant funding limits how many students can be in at one time, but six have completed the program so far.
Brockie said two high school students did online training through the program and one of those is already working as a CNA.
The release said Aaniiih Nakoda’s Certified Nursing Assistant apprenticeship is one of the first tribal college apprenticeship programs in the nation and is among the first registered apprenticeship programs integrated with post-secondary institutions.
The program was created as part of a pilot project developed by the Department of Labor and Industry, the Governor’s Office and the Strada Education Foundation. Students at five Montana tribal colleges are now enrolled in apprenticeships for CNA, licensed addiction counselor, wellness coach, HazMat technician, behavioral health and case manager.
“With dedication from tribal partners like Aaniiih Nakoda College, apprenticeship programs in rural communities are breaking down barriers and ensuring students can reach their full potential,” the release reports Gale Hollenbaugh said Thursday. “We are committed to supporting the growth of tribal apprenticeships and promoting partnerships with the businesses in their communities.”
Brockie said this morning that the CNA and Associate of Science in Nursing both are growing, especially as they are spread by word-of-mouth and people buy in to the concepts.
The college is enrolling people not only from the reservation, but from along the Hi-Line, she added.
The college partners with the hospitals in Malta, Havre and Lewistown and is also partnering with the Sweet Memorial Nursing Home in Chinook and Timber Creek Village in Havre, she said. It is also working on setting up a partnership with Northern Montana Care Center in Havre, she said.
The college continues to reach out to community members and is focusing on high school students to show them the variety of opportunities in the health care field, Brockie said.
The CNA program also ties in with the nursing program, she said, with some students completing the CNA program and then applying for the nursing program.
The CNA program ties in perfectly with Aaniiih Nakoda College’s goal of “growing our own” nurses and with the college and state of Montana goals of providing educational opportunity in the area, she said.
The release reports Brockie said Thursday in Helena that providing training opportunities in the community means students don’t have to travel to larger towns for training and are more likely to search for jobs near their home or family.
“The number of miles you have to go to attain anything, to go anywhere, can feel insurmountable,” she said. “With educational and training opportunities close to home, our students see their dreams as a possibility.”
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