Title of Effective Practice: - California Postsecondary Education ...

Direct Connection to Policy Area 4 of The Illinois Commitment
Bridging to Health Careers
Triton College
What issue or need is addressed by the effective practice? Triton College partnered with Proviso Leyden Council for
Community Action (PLCCA), a local community based human services organization located in Maywood, Illinois, on two
grant projects during FY05-06. In both cases the role of PLCCA was to provide recruitment, orientation, intake,
remediation, case management, supportive services and job placement services to clients served on the Presidents Office for
Employment Training (POET) and Critical Skill Shortage Initiative (CSSI) grants. The main purpose in collaborating with
PLCCA was that they are a well-established community center, and Triton College wanted to increase its outreach within
the community and attract a more diverse population for our programs than we would have been able to attract directly to
our campus.
Description of the effective practice: Potential students completed the documentation to determine Workforce Investment
Act (WIA) eligibility. Once eligibility was determine students were referred to Triton College to complete the admissions
process, placement testing, and attend information sessions on the specific programs based on their interest.
With the Critical Skills Shortages Initiative, grant funds were used to support the “Bridging to Health Careers” program.
This health careers program offered training to academically and economically disadvantaged individuals in Surgical
Technology, Medical Coder and Biller, and Insurance Clerk. Enrollment in these programs was 10, 31, and 9 persons
respectively.
The POET Healthcare Initiative provided training to academically and economically disadvantaged individuals in two
areas. Orientations and in-take sessions were held to recruit potential students for the Certified Nurse Assistant and the
Pharmacy Technician programs. Enrollments in these programs were 22 and 21 persons respectively.
Weekly meetings were held with staff from Triton College and the PLCCA case manager and program coordinator to
discuss concerns, issues and barriers that students were experiencing during the academic semester. In addition, office
hours were established on campus for the PLCCA case manager so that weekly meetings could be held with students, as
well as visits to the various classrooms to discuss performance and progress with the instructional staff. Based on the
information obtained from these meetings, the case manager was better able to provide the student with the appropriate
services or refer them to additional services, if necessary.
How does this practice achieve sustainability? Regarding sustainability, all classes for these programs were either
integrated into our regular schedule of credit courses or were a part of the Continuing Education program offerings. The
only difference was the focus on providing support to students in remediation, tutoring and mentoring during the time they
were enrolled in these programs. In the upcoming year, we have applied for more grant funding to support new projects
and/or build upon those projects we have already instituted. We plan to continue our partnership with PLCCA.
What are the results/measurable outcomes? Students completed all program requirements and all C.N.A. students have
taken the Illinois Nurse Aide Test through the Illinois Department of Public Health. Pharmacy Tech students who have
completed all program requirements have registered to take the certification exam through the Pharmacy Technician
Certification Board in November 2006.
In the academic year 2005 – 2006 the completion information is as follows:
• 10 students graduated from the Surgical Technology Program
• 31 completed all program requirements for Medical Coder
• 9 completed all program requirements for Insurance Billing Clerk
• 22 students graduated from Certified Nurse Aide
• 21 completed all program requirements for Pharmacy Technician
All students in these programs were eligible to take certification exams. The surgical technology students will take the
Association for Surgical Technologist exam in September 2006, all Medical Coder and Insurance Billing Clerk students
have taken the National Association for Medical Billers exam, and results are pending. The C.N.A. students have taken the
Illinois Nurse Aide Test through the Illinois Department of Public Health. In addition, Pharmacy Tech students who have
completed all program requirements have registered to take the certification exam through the Pharmacy Technician
Certification Board in November 2006.
Contact Information
Name: Ileana P. Rodríguez, Ph.D.
Email: irodri10@triton.edu
Phone: (708) 456-0300
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