WINNEBAGO COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Park View Health Center in Oshkosh is doing its part to help combat the ongoing nursing shortage.
The facility held a ribbon cutting Thursday to celebrate the grand opening of its new $1 million training center. It will be used to help train new Certified Nursing Assistants, preparing them for careers in health care.
Those interested in the roughly three-week course can work for Park View as a hospitality aide, a role that supports CNAs, to provide experience before classes begin.
Having the students work for the health center before the course doesn’t just provide experience, though. Because students are considered Winnebago County employees, they are paid to attend the classes.
“This is a very flexible option for a lot of people and, also, since they are hired on as Winnebago County employees, we do pay them their hourly wage to take the class and then we also pay for their state test,” explained Megan Shea, a registered nurse and Park View staff development coordinator. “So, essentially, they get paid to go through the class.”
Winnebago County asks that students stay on with the county for six months after training.
