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News from Grossmont Healthcare District
The Grossmont Healthcare District (GHD) board of directors has unanimously approved a grant of $196,456 to the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District that will teach 20 Grossmont College nursing students.
GHD’s grant will pay for teacher salaries and program expenses for a 16-month-long accelerated registered nursing program that’s part of an existing Grossmont College program known as the Welcome Back Center (WBC). The grant will continue the WBC program, which includes career counseling and educational guidance, as well as assistance with test taking, critical thinking skills and study skills, for a new cohort of international healthcare professionals, many of whom previously worked as doctors, nurses and other healthcare positions in their native countries.
Founded in 2001, the WBC has assisted more than 2,600 foreign-trained medical professionals from around the world obtain the correct credentials, licenses or certificates so they can resume their medical careers in the U.S. healthcare field. Many WBC graduates currently work at hospitals, urgent care centers and community health clinics, including some of them in underserved communities where the need is great for linguistically and culturally competent healthcare workers, according to Dr. Elisabeth Hamel, Grossmont College nursing instructor. Grossmont College’s Welcome Back Center program is the only foreign-trained graduate program among the 107 community colleges in California, Hamel said.
Set to begin in late January, WBC’s newest class of 30 nursing students – the fourth since its founding – will comprise 20 students covered by GHD’s grant plus another 10 students who will be sponsored by a $98,228 grant from Alvarado Hospital.
The Grossmont Healthcare District, a public agency formed in 1952 to build and operate Grossmont Hospital, supports various health-related community programs and services in San Diego's East County region. The District serves as landlord of Grossmont Hospital on behalf of local taxpayers, including ownership of the property and buildings. In 1991, the District leased the hospital's operations to Sharp Healthcare under a 30-year lease that runs through the year 2021. The District is governed by a five-member board of directors, each elected to four-year terms, who represent nearly 500,000 people residing within the District's 750 square miles in San Diego's East County. For more information about GHD, visit www.grossmonthealthcare.org.
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