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New Training to Create More Health Care Workers

Provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/ Alissa Eckert, MS

 

Mishawaka High School is teaming up with a local company to train temporary helpers for the health care industry.

Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb granted a temporary waiver that allows for people with basic training to help medical personnel with simple tasks like dressing, feeding and taking temperatures. 

These new medical workers are called Personal Care Attendants, or PCAs. 

Legacy CNA Training has teamed up with Mishawaka High School to use its medical classroom to teach the course. Legacy already has three week trainings for those working to be a Certified Nurses Aide. The PCA training takes a day and a half.

Sue McPherren is an RN and the program director for Legacy’s CNA training program. She said health care workers are in critical need. “The people in the medical profession, they need help. And if anybody’s open to looking into maybe starting a new career.”

PCAs will only be certified as care givers during the pandemic, but McPherren said afterwards they would have a leg up for other medical certifications.

Legacy is offering the class for free and students are expected to be offered jobs upon completion. The first class at Mishawaka High School begins Monday.