MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) -- It's all about workforce. That's what the Alabama Community College System tells CBS 42 about their new certification for Nursing Support Technicians (NST-C's).
Danne Howard with the Alabama Hospital Association said the state needs more healthcare workers.
"It's not just rural. It's not just urban. It is across the board," said Howard. "There are thousands of job opportunities in hospitals today that we are desperate to have more individuals ready to go to work."
Jimmy Baker, chancellor of the Alabama Community College System, said the new certification for NST-C's is an answer to that call.
"For many of our young students, they can go and in a short period of time, receive enough training to be effective as a worker in the healthcare industry," he sad.
Through that training, NST-C's will be able to help nurses draw blood, assist with respiratory care, and other patient needs.
"We are offering that through ACCS and the two-year college systems," explained Peggy Benson, executive officer with the Alabama Board of Nursing. "And they will be able to get that training. Some of it's online... we're hoping to also get that started in high schools and fill two to 4,000 vacancies across the state."
Greg Reed, advisor on workforce transformation for Governor Kay Ivey, said this will help our economy grow.
"It is so difficult to find folks that are gonna have the training necessary to be able to provide the services needed," he remarked.
The Alabama Board of Nursing started accepting applications for the new certification on January 6th. If you want to learn more, you can apply online at the board's website here.