Area residents wanting to work in the healthcare field now have a new opportunity to receive fully-funded training. The North Arkansas Partnership for Health Education has received a $14,800 grant from the South Shore Foundation to fund scholarships for residents of the South Shore area - communities in Marion and Boone Counties.

Dr. Rick Hinterthuer, executive director, said the training is a three-week course leading to employment as a Certified Nursing Assistant. The scholarships cover tuition, supplies, uniforms and travel support. Classes are held at a new CNA training facility at 105 East Crandall in Harrison, staffed by two full-time RN instructors, several adjunct instructors, and one full-time VISTA volunteer. Starting dates for the daytime classes for the rest of the year are Sept. 6, Oct. 3, Oct. 31, and Nov. 28. Starting dates for the night classes for the rest of the year are: Aug. 29, Oct. 3, and Nov.14. A full schedule of three-week classes is also scheduled through June of 2006.

Twenty scholarships are available. Those eligible must be at least 16, live in the South Shore region, meet income guidelines, and meet all CNA admission requirements. For more information, call Michelle Hirsh in Harrison at (870) 391-3140, or toll-free 1-888-625-9930.

“I know of no other program that has such a profound educational and economic impact on an individual or a community in the short period of three weeks,” said Dr. Hinterthuer. Many of the students continue their education to become LPNs, nurses, radiation technologists, work in other allied health programs, or attend college, he said. Employment as a CNA offers benefits and a starting salary of $19,000 to $22,000.

Dr. Hinterthuer said the Arkansas Health Education Center-NW has recruited and trained more than 1,300 students since the beginning of its CNA program in 1997 with 98 percent of its students finding healthcare jobs. Those jobs may be in private duty care, home healthcare, hospice care, doctor’s offices, assisted living, and long-term care. The organization keeps a Caregiver Registry of graduates interested in working as private duty nursing assistants.

Jodie Elizabeth Jeffrey, chairman of the South Shore Foundation, said this scholarship program is for rural residents who may not have been aware of the opportunity to obtain this training or unable to afford the fees or transportation needed. “Please share this information with those you know from the rural areas of the South Shore: Diamond City, Lead Hill, Omaha, Pyatt, Bull Shoals, Flippin and Yellville," Ms. Jeffrey said. "Our directors would like nothing more than to have all these scholarships utilized as soon as possible."

Started as a partnership of North Arkansas College and North Arkansas Regional Medical Center, the nonprofit then merged with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Area Health Education Center and Center on Aging to become a branch campus of both the AHEC-NW at Fayetteville and the Schmieding Center for Senior Health of Springdale.

South Shore Foundation is the charitable foundation of Northern Arkansas Telephone Company of Flippin, family-owned and operated since 1951, serving communities on the south shore of Bull Shoals Lake. The foundation is operated by an 11-member board representing business, education, and government. For further information or to apply for a grant, call 1-888-SSHORE-1 (774-6731).