Trinity Health Of NE teams with Charter Oak State College on free job training program

HBJ FILE PHOTO St. Francis Hospital is part of Trinity Health Of New England.

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If you’ve ever wanted a career in health care, Trinity Health Of New England now offers a free head start.

Trinity Health announced Tuesday it is partnering with Charter Oak State College and Capital Workforce Partners on the Good Jobs Challenge Grant Employment Training Program, designed to provide free training for entry-level jobs in health care to the under- and unemployed.

Participants in the 12-week online program will be trained for roles as patient registrars, which help register and check-in patients, process billing, and provide customer support.

According to ZipRecruiter, the average pay for patient registrars in Connecticut is $20 an hour, slightly below the national average of $22 an hour.

Those who complete the program will be eligible for open patient access positions at Trinity Health hospitals, as well as at Trinity Health Of New England Medical Group locations throughout the region. A spokesperson for Trinity Health said graduates also may seek jobs with other healthcare systems or medical offices.

Program graduates also earn a digital badge from Credly, a digital credential network, and can use that as a foundation toward pursuing a college degree.

Courses are designed to feed into existing degree programs at Charter Oak, including bachelor of science degrees in health information management (HIM) or health care administration.

Charter Oak State College is Connecticut’s only public online college, offering associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in high-demand fields including health care.

For those not yet ready to pursue a bachelor’s degree, Charter Oak also offers a credit-bearing certificate in HIM Fundamentals.

Trinity Health said the program will begin with two cohorts of 25 participants. Those eligible to participate must be underemployed or unemployed, at least 18 years old, and eligible to work in the United States.

Students are enrolled in the program for free and receive a laptop loaded with Microsoft 365 in order to complete coursework using the Blackboard learning system.

The course schedule allows flexibility for students, Trinity Health said, especially for those unable to leave jobs to attend classes. It also provides equity for students with disabilities or transportation or childcare challenges.

Students also will be supported by a career and academic navigator, who will provide career counseling and job-readiness skills through regular live and recorded webinars.

In addition, Charter Oak has contracted with LinkedIn Learning to provide “soft skills” training, including basic computer, customer service, and communication skills. The grant program also includes access to a Coursera Academy curriculum from CVS on healthcare customer service.

Trinity Health Of New England operates St. Francis Hospital and Mount Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital, both in Hartford, as well as St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury and Mercy Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Trinity Health did not say how many openings it currently has for patient registrars at its facilities. A spokesperson said that number is “fluid.”

The Good Jobs Challenge Grant is funded through the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and is administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration. According to the EDA, the program has awarded 32 grants totaling more than $500 million to programs in 31 states and Puerto Rico, and projects more than 50,000 job placements as a result.

Capital Workforce Partners is a private, nonprofit workforce development board based in Hartford that helps people overcome barriers to employment.

For information on the grant program, call the Capital Workforce Partners’ CareerConneCT line at (860) 359-5104 and speak with a career advisor.