Building Bridges to Healthcare Careers

When United We Heal (UWH) polled members of Local 328 regarding their interest in advancing their careers in healthcare, we discovered that there is significant interest in doing so, but access to education without cutting paid hours was a large barrier. 

In a quest to improve career advancement opportunities, a partnership between OHSU and Local 328 was forged. Through this strong partnership, UWH was able to work up a grant submission to garner funding for a ground-breaking community-workforce recruitment program. Through this program, those interested in advancing their careers in the healthcare field could learn the necessary skills to do so while on the job, much like an apprenticeship. This way, workers would not have to take costly time off for separate training.

Looking to the future, this grant proposal could set a precedent for collaboration between OHSU and Local 328 that continues to improve the field of healthcare, both for providers and for patients. When different stake-holders in the healthcare field work together, the resulting outcomes promise to expand opportunities and improve outcomes for all involved.