Truman Langevin realized he wanted to be a nurse when his ailing great-grandmother moved in with his family near the end of high school. She had dementia and needed extra care. Truman was there to assist her with whatever she needed and discovered his calling to help others in the process.
Truman completed his certified nursing assistant (CNA) coursework in high school. But he wasn’t sure how he was going to pay for the rest of his nursing education.
“Right out of high school, I didn’t have any money – at all,” said Truman.
Fortunately, someone told Truman about the Idaho Healthcare Institute and it changed everything for him. He was offered a scholarship and is currently working on his licensed practical nursing (LPN) degree.
“I think that without the scholarship, I wouldn’t have been able to go on to get my LPN or RN,” said Truman. “It kickstarted my career because it helped me stay focused, stay on track, worry less about money and more about how I get to a position where I can help people.”
The Idaho Healthcare Institute is a powerful partnership between the College of Eastern Idaho (CEI), Mountain View Hospital and Idaho Falls Community Hospital. It is working to address Idaho’s nursing shortage by offering training programs and providing Idahoans with scholarships and job placement upon graduation.
“By working alongside the College of Eastern Idaho we can help provide rewarding career opportunities for students and strengthen our nursing workforce,” said James Adamson, CEO of Mountain View Hospital and Idaho Falls Community Hospital. “We are building a powerful workforce pipeline to meet the growing needs of our region.”
According to the college’s president, Rick Aman the mission at CEI has always been to make quality education affordable and accessible..
"This partnership with the Idaho Healthcare Institute is a natural extension of that mission,” Aman said.“By partnering with Mountain View Hospital and IFCH, we can help ensure that our students have the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in these healthcare fields.”
Maddie Elliot was one of the first Idaho Healthcare Institute students to earn her LPN. She is currently working at Idaho Falls Community Hospital and plans to go back to school to earn her RN in the near future.
“My quality of life is amazing and has improved since I’ve been in nursing because my job makes me feel valued,” said Maddie. “I think any prospective nursing student should consider reaching out to the Idaho Healthcare Institute because it completely transformed my life and it opened the door to many opportunities. And I know it can do that for so many people.”
The Idaho Healthcare Institute was built to make it easy for students to shift from the classroom to their careers. Courses are taught by experienced nurses with years of experience and clinical rotations are held at Mountain View Hospital and Idaho Falls Community Hospital.
“We wanted to make the transition to working in our facilities as easy as possible,” said Adamson. “Courses are designed to do more than give students the skills they need to work at a hospital or clinic. We wanted to provide opportunities for students to get to know the facilities and the people who work in them.”
The Idaho Healthcare Institute provides scholarships for students, eliminating financial hurdles that could keep some from pursuing a career in healthcare. Prospective students can apply for scholarships online at IdahoHealthcareInstitute.com.
For those interested in starting a career in healthcare, a CNA certificate is the perfect place to begin. It allows graduates to provide basic patient care and cross prerequisite courses off the list for those who want to go on to get their LPN or RN degree. CNAs can work in hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities and home health companies.
The CNA program takes 10 weeks to complete. It includes three weeks of classroom work, five weeks developing practical skills in the Idaho Healthcare Institute lab and two weeks gaining hands-on experience in the hospitals.
“There is a space for everyone in nursing,” said Brittney Crisp, an LPN student at the Idaho Healthcare Institute. “Whether you like to be really high contact with the community or if you like working behind the scenes. Nursing offers something for everyone.”
The next CNA course starts in early October.