Riverview Health skilling up their workforce to fill critical healthcare jobs

HAMILTON COUNTY — The shortage of healthcare workers has gotten the attention of a one hospital organization and college.

Riverview Health and Ivy Tech in Hamilton County have partnered up to help the hospitals workforce learn new skills.

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"I got to show my kids that third time I didn't strike out,” Katy Learned, a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant at Riverview Health said. “I graduated!”

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Learned has a background in business. She started her career at Riverview as a receptionist. However, she always knew she wanted to do more.

"The pandemic really opened my eyes that I wanted to be involved in it,” Learned said. “I wanted to be involved in patient care. Obviously not a point of all the terrible things that might have happened, but I wanted to be a part of it. It was just a really big passion of mine. "

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When the opportunity arose that allowed her to work and earn her medical assistance license, she knew she had to take advantage of the opportunity.

"I had to earn an income while I was in school and all of the programs that I had tried in the past I had to you know accommodate my work schedule with it and I wasn't able to,” Learned said.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment of medical assistants is projected to grow 14 percent by 2032. Riverview and Ivy Tech in Hamilton County say it was already seeing a shortage of workers for this position. So, it created this program to fill a critical need.

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"These partnerships are absolutely necessary in order to fill job shortages in Indiana and across the nation,” Rachel Kartz the Chancellor of Ivy Tech Hamilton County Campus said. “So, we are able to both support the student and skill up that workforce."

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The program is something the hospital plans on expanding in the future. They will work with Ivy Tech to do so. They say that private employers stepping up and helping their workforce exceed and become more educated with their financial support is key in filling critical job openings.

"It does take private employers working with schools like Ivy Tech to craft those unique solutions that are tailored to fit what we need as an organization,” Dave Hyatt the CEO of Riverview Health said. “Ivy Tech has been a wonderful partner. "

For more information about Ivy Tech’s education options, click here.